What a Pair
by rutgers
Summary: My take on how Jane and Maura first met and became friends. Chapter 14  the conclusion  is up! Hope you all like it!  Thank you for all the reviews - PLEASE review this chapter Thanks! I'm so sorry it took me forever to get this one done guys!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Rizzoli and Isles - the credit goes to Tess Gerritsen and TNT. I'm merely borrowing them for a fan fiction idea. Please read and review. Thanks.

A/N - This is set before Charles Hoyt and before Jane and Frost are partners.

"Come on, Korsak, keep up, will ya?" Detective Jane Rizzoli chided as she and her partner, Detective Vince Korsak trekked up the wooded hill.

"The vic is already dead, Rizzoli, why do you have to take this hill like you're running a marathon?"

The tall brunette stopped and turned to Korsak.

"Running a marathon? Really? I'm _walking_ up a hill, Korsak. You'd seriously better get your ass to the doctor to have that physical," she said, placating her partner by waiting for him. When he finally caught up, she turned to continue.

Finally, they made it to the top of the hill to find the scene abuzz with activity. Jane approached the victim, momentarily forgetting that there was a new chief medical examiner.

"Rizzoli. You the new M.E.?" Jane asked.

"I don't know who Rizzoli is, but I'm Doctor Maura Isles," the hazel-eyed blonde replied, barely looking up.

Jane stared at her in disbelief for a second and shook her head. "No, I'm Rizzoli. Sorry, Detective Jane Rizzoli. You the new M.E.? she repeated.

Maura finally looked up. "Oh, yes I am. Hi."

"Hi. Anyway, what do you have?"

"What do you mean?"

Jane let out an exasperated sigh and ran her hand through her hair. "I mean, right here, the victim - what are you seeing? Cause of death, you know, the things a detective might ask," Jane said, her tone becoming just a tad snippy.

Korsak wandered over. "Hi, I'm Detective Vince Korsak. You took over for Doctor Shaud?"

"I did. And hello, I'm Doctor Maura Isles," she said, standing up.

"Doctor?" Jane prompted, pointing to the victim.

"Yes?"

"Okay, you are seriously killing me," Jane muttered under her breath, donning rubber gloves and kneeling down to the body to have a look for herself.

"Looks like there's a knife wound to the shoulder, one to the side," the detective said, shifting the body. "What kind of damage would a stab wound right here do?"

"I don't know. I can't tell you a cause of death yet, Detective."

"Oh, for Christ's sake, what the hell can you tell me then?" Jane asked, standing up and searing Maura with a laser-type glare. "I mean you are the chief medical examiner, right? I'm assuming this isn't your first day on the job."

Korsak silently winced. He had a bad feeling Jane and the new doc were going to come to blows soon and could tell Rizzoli's top was about to pop.

"Detective, I haven't yet fully processed this body, but I promise you that when I do, I will deliver a full, concise and very detailed report to you," Maura said, shooting her own death glare back at Jane. "Until then, however, I _will not_ speculate on the cause of death. I do not _ever_ speculate on a cause of death. Do I make myself clear, Detective Rizzoli?"

At that, Korsak felt his jaw go slack. No one - _no one_ - had ever spoken to Jane like that when she was on the job or at any other time for that matter.

Jane set her jaw and exhaled a slow breath, trying to retrieve her patience and keep herself in check - all the while holding Maura's glare. The two women were seemingly attempting to stare one another down in a battle of wills.

Korsak cleared his throat, intentionally, to try to cut the tension that by now had become as thick as frozen maple syrup. "Come on, Jane, let's see what else we can find around here," he said, gently touching her arm.

She backed away from the scene, she and Maura still staring eachother down, neither wanting to be the first to look away. It was only when Jane almost tripped on something that she was forced to look down and found the victim's wallet. It was devoid of cash and credit cards, but at least it held the identification.

"Brandon Gray," Jane said aloud, walking back to the victim to compare the photo. A quick look at the photo against the face told her it was the same person.

"His name is Brandon Gray," Jane said, holding the license up so Maura could see. "Unless you don't want to _speculate_ that the photo identification is accurate."

"I've had just about enough of your attitude, Detective," Maura said, not even glancing up as she went back to obtaining samples and filling in a form to have the body transferred back to the precinct.

"Well, I'm sorry to be the one to have to tell you this, Princess, but I'm lead detective on this case so unfortunately, we're going to be seeing a lot of eachother."

Maura sighed deeply. "Wonderful."

Korsak had just about enough. "Rizzoli, come on," he barked. His tone got her attention and she turned away, finally beginning to process the rest of the scene.

"What the hell?" he said.

"I know, right? What is wrong with her?"

"I don't mean her, Rizzoli. I'm talking about you. What the hell got into you back there?"

"Me? Me? Come on, I didn't do anything out of the ordinary, Korsak. I approached her with the intent of doing my job, which she is holding me up from doing."

He sighed. "Not everyone works the same way Shaud did. Come on, Rizzoli. We are going to have to work with her, she's the damn chief medical examiner - so quit the cat fighting and be a professional."

"Excuse me?" she snapped.

"You heard me. Now let's glean what we can from this scene. We don't have all day and we'll be losing light in a few hours."

TBC

A/N2: Yeah, I'm back a wee bit sooner than I expected. It's just my take on how they first met and came to be friends. Please, please, please review! This is going to be more a comedic fic, at least that's my plan! rutgers :-)


	2. Chapter 2

What a Pair - Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Rizzoli and Isles - the credit goes to Tess Gerritsen and TNT. I'm merely borrowing them for a fan fiction idea. Please read and review. Thanks.

A/N - This is set before Charles Hoyt and before Jane and Frost are partners.

...

Rizzoli and Korsak left the scene about two hours later.

"Okay, so we got a guy, probably died by knife wound, though we probably won't know for sure until next week," Jane said, sarcastically as she flipped the pages of her notebook. "He's in running clothes, shoes. Figure he's probably up there on the trails and then gets killed in a mugging gone wrong?"

Korsak gave a non-committal nod. "Sounds like a good theory."

"Brandon Gray is clean. I ran him through the system, no hits, no nothing."

Just then, Detective Darren Crowe approached Jane's desk. "Oh, look, this day just keeps getting better," Jane said, giving him a sideways glance and rolling her eyes.

Darren Crowe made Jane's skin crawl. He was smarmy, sexist, conceited and generally obnoxious all wrapped into one nauseating package. She thought he was a nice guy for all of one minute her first day in the bullpen three years ago - until he opened his mouth.

_"Welcome to the bullpen, Rizzoli," Crowe said, looking down as Jane got her desk situated. _

_"Hey, thanks, Darren," she said, smiling. _

_"You know, there haven't been many female detectives, so it's nice that you're here."_

_She smiled proudly. "Thanks. I just can't wait to get started and I'm really looking forward to making a difference on the force."_

_Then he smiled, but it wasn't genuine. _

_"Good. Why don't you first start by making some coffee?"_

_Korsak overheard Crowe's comment to his newly gold-shielded partner and was about to intervene on her behalf when Jane stood up to just a shade shorter than Crowe's lanky frame and got right in his face. Crowe's smile faltered while Korsak's got wider. _

_"Hey, Asshole, guess what!" she said, keeping her tone even but digging her index finger into his chest with each word she spoke. "Because I don't have a dick between my legs, I had to work twice as hard as you to get here! Nobody, and I mean __**NOBODY**__, is going to disrespect me. You got that?"_

_By the time she was done, Jane had chest-poked Crowe right back to his desk and all eyes in the bullpen were on him. _

_"I don't hear anything," she prompted, folding her arms as she stood face to face with him. _

_"Yeah, yeah, Rizzoli. I got it," he said, putting his hands up in surrender._

_"Hey, Crowe - " Korsak started, but without looking at him, Jane put up her hand to stop him from talking. _

_"I'm still waiting," she said._

_"I apologize," Crowe said, tightly. _

_She nodded and headed back to her desk, while Crowe, thoroughly humiliated, walked out of the bullpen. _

_Korsak approached her desk and took a seat on the edge of it. _

_"Aw, crap, Vince, you gonna lecture me?"_

_He shook his head. "Not at all. Nice job, kid. He's an ass. We ain't been partners long, but I already like your style. I'm heading down to The Bean, how do you take your coffee?"_

_She smiled. "Cream and four sugars, please."_

_"Comin' right up," Korsak replied, pushing himself off her desk. "Oh, and by the way, Rizzoli, you may not have a dick, but you sure as hell have the biggest balls I've ever seen." He winked at her and patted her shoulder. _

"Yeah, like I enjoy rolling over to this side of the pen," Crowe said, snapping her out of the memory. "There's another body over on one of the Chestnut Hill trails."

...

Jane was more than a little irritated to see Maura Isles already kneeling down next to the dead body. "Great, she's here already? How the hell did she get here that fast, via helicopter?" Jane said, making a dramatic production of looking around for a chopper.

Korsak sighed and rolled his eyes. "Rizzoli, come on. Don't start again."

"No guarantees."

...

Maura knelt down to look at the body. She wasn't even yet finished with the first autopsy report and now another body was about to lie on her slab. She'd only been on the job for a week and was still getting settled. In three years in Norwalk, as the assistant medical examiner, she'd autopsied only seventy-six bodies. She'd wanted a change of pace, wanted to be someplace with a lot more excitement. Sadly, she thought to herself, her excitement consisted of late nights working in a lab surrounded by corpses, y-incisions and medical equipment. Maura found it much easier to work with dead people - live ones scared her to death.

"Welcome to Boston, Maura Isles - two bodies in one day," she said under her breath.

She gently shifted the body of a male, likely in his mid-twenties. The body showed signs of severe bruising, blood from possibly a blunt force object. Unlike the victim from earlier in the day, she didn't see any indication of stab wounds.

"Fantastic," she said aloud to herself, spying Rizzoli walking toward her and feeling her anger start to rise yet again. She had never felt so disrespected at a crime scene as she did earlier today - not even by any male detective she'd ever worked with. It took everything she had to refrain from saying anything when the detective sauntered over, took a pair of gloves out of her pocket and knelt down across from her.

...

Rizzoli watched as Maura shifted the body. Jane noted that she didn't see any stab wounds that were present on the last body. She, like Maura, noted a lot more bruising and trauma from force. Jane looked at Maura, debating whether to even ask.

Maura, as if sensing her question, stopped her with a glare. "No. You'll have to wait."

Jane exhaled, stood up and shot daggers through the doctor, for the second time in less than five hours. She turned away to survey the rest of the scene.

After combing the place for two hours, there were only a handful of people to talk to, no real clues and certainly no wallet to give them an identification. They bagged a barely-smoked cigarette that had been dropped not far from where the victim was found. Frustrated, she met back up with Korsak and they headed back to the precinct.

...

"Okay, two bodies, both on running trails - we gotta get extra patrols out on some of the more popular running trails," Jane said, again sifting through her notes. "Did anyone you spoke to see anything at all?"

"Nope. Nothing."

"Hey, ya know what? This is such bullshit Korsak. We're running up a body count bigger than my bar tab at the Robber, we have no leads and as a special bonus, we have an ME with a bug up her ass about making any kind of fucking observation at the scene - and no autopsy report yet. _Wonderful_."

Somewhere in the distance, Jane heard a clicking sound and she noticed Korsak's eyes go wide as the "click click click" got closer. Jane slowly turned in her chair to see Maura Isles staring her down, autopsy report in hand, which she unceremoniously flopped onto her desk. Jane looked from the file thrown on her desk up to Maura Isles' hard hazel eyes.

"I can assure you, Detective Rizzoli, there is no insect inserted in my rectum," Isles said with a tight smile. "However, I can tell you that you are certainly becoming a royal pain in it." And with that, Isles spun on her heel and marched out of the bullpen.

Jane turned back to her desk, and upon seeing Korsak start to say something out of the corner of her eye, she pointed right at him.

"Not one word, Korsak. Not one word."

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

What a Pair - Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Rizzoli and Isles - the credit goes to Tess Gerritsen and TNT. I'm merely borrowing them for a fan fiction idea. Please read and review. Thanks.

A/N - This is set before Charles Hoyt and before Jane and Frost are partners. Also, the medical aspect may be a little bit off so please forgive.

A/N2 - Thanks so much for all the reviews everyone - really appreciate it and it motivates me to write faster! :-) ...

Jane sat at her desk stewing over what had just transpired. Korsak took one look at her set jaw and steely glare and decided he'd better go over and talk her off the ledge.

"Hey, Rizzoli, why don't you just go down there and make peace? We all have to work together and we really don't want to piss off the ME. Especially the _Chief _ME."

"I'm not going anywhere, Korsak. I need to review this and then we have to check out Brandon Gray's apartment, notify his next of kin - it'll be a lot easier now that we know _exactly_ what killed him," she said, holding up the report."

Korsak sighed. How on Earth had he gotten stuck with the most stubborn woman in Boston as a partner?

"You got somethin' else you wanna say?"

He laughed. "I remember telling you at one time you had the biggest balls I'd ever seen - I think I found someone that may be carrying a bigger set than you," he said and with that, headed back over to his desk. "And as soon as you finish perusing that, give it here so I can have a look before we venture out."

Jane shook her head and went back to reading the report.

"Holy crap - Gray died from a stab wound that angled under the ribcage and punctured a kidney. Son of a bitch - did I not say that at the scene? That's it," she said, getting up and storming out of the bullpen, autopsy report in hand. Korsak shook his head as he watched Rizzoli rage out of the room, his right hand reaching into the drawer and into the extra-large tub of Tums that was a staple in his desk ever since they became partners.

...

Maura was working on the second victim of the day, smiling softly to herself as she thought about what had occurred upstairs. For someone she didn't think could ever shut their mouth, Rizzoli was sure speechless when she turned away and left. She was extremely satisfied with that outcome - the less she had to hear from Jane Rizzoli, the better.

That train of thought steamrolled right off the tracks as Maura heard the door to the autopsy room open with such force the handle clanked hard against the surrounding glass door frame. She looked up to see Rizzoli coming at her like a hurricane.

She slammed the report down on the vacant autopsy table beside the one on which Maura was working. Maura didn't verbally respond, but she placed her scalpel down on the table and turned to face Jane, folding her arms over her chest.

"You couldn't throw me a bone, give me the tiniest bit of an indication that I may have been right about the cause of death today? Your damn report corroborates exactly what I was getting at when I asked what kind of damage a stab wound would do in that location," Jane said, folding her arms to steel herself for the argument that would no doubt ensue.

"I couldn't be completely sure and as I told you, I do not speculate. Look, I'm working as fast as I can to get you a completed report on our John Doe here."

"Another thing, I don't appreciate the little spectacle that just took place upstairs."

"Neither do I. I don't think I need to tell you just exactly how highly unprofessional it is for you to be speaking about me, in a public setting, in such a disrespectful way. I won't tolerate it."

"Is it possible to get the damn report today?" Jane asked, ignoring Maura's last comment and picking up the report she had slammed down upon her arrival.

"If I don't have any more bodies, dead or _living_, to interrupt me - then possibly."

Jane narrowed her eyes at the ME, just the sight of her making her blood boil at the moment. She opened her mouth to speak, but instead just turned on her heel and walked out of the autopsy room - pissed as all hell that Maura Isles had once again gotten in the last word.

Maura let out the breath she was holding. She'd expected a much tougher fight and a hell of a lot more yelling. Turning back around to face John Doe, she picked up her scalpel and continued the autopsy where she'd left off.

...

"We're very sorry for your loss, Mrs. Gray," Jane said, sitting down on the couch next to Brandon's grieving mother.

"Ma, I'm ho-" a young man called out as he opened the front door, but stopped short when he saw the scene taking place in the living room. Jane and Korsak each did a double take, not realizing Brandon had an identical twin brother.

"What ... what's going on here? Who are you? Ma, why are you crying?"

Korsak approached him. "Son, I'm Detective Korsak. That's my partner, Detective Rizzoli," Korsak said, almost barreled out of the way as the woman ran to her other son, hugging him.

"Brandon's dead, Greg, he's dead. Oh God!"

Greg and his mother cried in eachother's arms as the two detectives looked on.

"Ma, come on. Why don't you lie down for a little while, okay? Come on," Greg said, trying to pull himself together so he could talk to the detectives. He led her down the hallway to a bedroom and came out a few minutes later. As he approached them, Jane could see the tears still cascading down his face.

"Mr. Gray, please sit," Jane said.

He nodded and sat down. "How?"

Jane looked to Korsak and let out a barely audible sigh. "Your brother was found along one of the Esplanade trails. He was stabbed twice and one of the stab wounds punctured his kidney."

"Around eight a.m., right?"

Jane glanced at the report quickly. "Yes. How did you know that?"

"Pain in my left side," he said, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. "Bran and I have always been connected like that - we can feel eachother's pain. Oh God." Greg inexplicably jumped up and ran down the hall. Jane and Korsak both winced when they heard the sound of vomiting coming from down the hall. That coupled with the sound of the mother's wailing was enough to make both of the detectives sick to their stomachs.

Greg came back out a few minutes later. "I'm, I'm sorry, detectives. Look, how can I help? I'll do anything - _ANYTHING_ - I need to do to help you."

"Look Greg. We need you to be able to take care of your mother. She's going to need you right now. You need to let us do our job and find out who did this, okay?" Korsak said, putting his strong hand on the young man's shoulder.

Greg nodded his understanding.

"May we please see his room?"

"Sure, follow me," he said, leading the way.

"You live here too?"

"Yes, we were going to start looking for an apartment together soon. We wanted to, but since our father died, we didn't want to leave Ma alone. It's been hard on her - I don't know how she's going to recover," Greg said, opening the door to Brandon's room. "I don't know how I'm going to recover."

Jane gently rubbed Greg's back as he sat down on Brandon's bed.

"Is there anyone you know of who may have had something against your brother? Anyone at all, any recent arguments?"

"Ma'am - my brother was the most gentle soul. He never argued with anyone and he was a do-gooder. All the time all he wanted was to make people happy. I don't know anyone who would have wanted to hurt him."

Korsak wandered around the room.

"How often did he run?" Jane asked.

"About four times a week. He was always checking out new trails. Here," he said, getting up and opening up Brandon's top drawer. He handed Jane a piece of paper.

"It's a list of all the trails he wanted to run - the ones highlighted are the ones he completed."

"Did he frequent any gyms?" Korsak asked, still walking around the room.

"The Weight Room, over in Needham. The days he didn't run, he was there - hell, even days he did run, he was there."

"Okay. Greg, thank you. If you can think of anything else, will you please call?" Jane asked, handing him her card. Korsak handed him his as well.

"Of course, detectives. I told you, anything I can do to help find the son of a bitch that killed my brother, I'll do it."

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

...

After having gone to the gym and hearing pretty much the same things Greg had told them, they pulled back into the precinct around six-thirty. "Korsak, I'm going to grab a cup of coffee at The Bean, you want somethin?"

"Nah, I'm going to go up and try to piece a few things together."

"Okay, I'll be up in a few minutes."

...

Korsak sat at his desk, looking over the autopsy report.

Click, click, click.

He looked up to see Maura, folder in hand. "Hi Detective Korsak. Here is the autopsy report for the second victim. Any luck identifying him yet?" she asked, handing him the report.

"Thanks, Doc," he said. She cocked her head and gave him an odd look. "I mean, Doctor Isles. I call all the MEs Doc, but if it bothers you, I don't have to."

Then she did something Korsak wasn't quite sure she was capable of doing - she gave him a genuine smile.

"No, it's fine. I like it," she said.

He returned her smile. "No. We don't have an identification on him yet. "

"Okay. I'll submit the dental records and see if we get something."

"Great, thank you. So what's the story with him?"

"Blunt-force trauma to the back of the head. There was a moderate amount of blood and the cranium was cracked in the back. The size of the wounds confirm that the weapon was a tire iron."

"Wow. Okay, thanks, Doc. Oh, hey, about my partner. She's - " but she cut him off with a scoff.

"Can I ask you something Detective Korsak?"

"Vince, please. And sure."

She nodded. "Is she _always_ like that?"

He stifled a laugh, hoping he could get through this conversation before Jane returned with her coffee.

"That depends. Like what, specifically?" he asked.

Just then the door to the bullpen opened and Jane sauntered in, stopping mid-sip when she saw who was by Korsak's desk.

"We can resume this at another time, then, Detective Korsak," she said, giving him a nod and turning, almost hitting into Jane's arm that was still holding the coffee up to her mouth.

"Uh, excuse you," Jane said sarcastically, quickly switching the coffee into her other hand and shaking off the two or three drops that landed on her right hand as Maura sauntered past her without a word. Jane's head turned to follow Maura to see if there was any kind of acknowledgement. Not surprised that there wasn't, she approached Korsak's desk.

"What are you going to resume at another time?"

"What?"

"The tail end of that conversation - what are you going to resume at another time?"

"She was telling me about the report details - here. Have a look," he said, handing it to her.

"About damn time," she said, taking it and sitting at her desk, propping up her feet and leaning back in her chair.

"Jesus, his skull was cracked?" she said, cringing as she read further into the report. "A tire iron? Okay, two joggers, two different weapons?"

"Yeah. Doctor Isles is going to submit the dentals to see if we can get the identification. There were no hits on the prints we submitted."

Jane nodded.

"Jane, she's actually nice. You really should - " he started but Jane stopped him.

"If you're going to say `make peace' - forget it. You're starting to sound like a broken record with that crap already, Korsak. We don't like eachother. Not hard to figure out."

"You really are such a stubborn ass, Rizzoli."

"One of the things you love about me."

"Not actually."

She balled up a piece of paper and threw it at him, smiling. "You love me, you know it."

He shook his head and laughed at her antics. "Yeah, I do. But it doesn't change the fact that you are the most stubborn woman I know."

She playfully batted her eyelashes at him and went back to reading the report.

...

It was seven o'clock and the two detectives were still going over possibilities about their case.

"Detective Korsak, I have a hit on the dentals I submitted," Maura said, totally bypassing Jane's desk and walking directly to Vince's. Jane just watched in awe. Korsak quickly glanced at Jane then stood up to greet Maura.

She handed him the file. "Thanks, Doc."

Jane's jaw actually dropped just about an inch. She wondered when the hell they became so comfortable with eachother.

"Jason Trelmer. We got an address, Jane, let's go. Thanks, Maura."

Jane stood up and took the file to look through it. Korsak watched the two women co-exist within a foot of one another yet the chill in the air was so tangible he almost expected to see his breath in front of him when he spoke.

"Come on, Rizzoli. Let's go notify the next of kin here so we can call it a night and start fresh in the morning," he said.

"Yeah, okay," she said, walking over to her desk and putting on her blazer.

"Thanks again, Maura," Korsak said.

"You're welcome. Goodnight," she replied, heading out of the bullpen and back to the morgue.

...

"You two were awfully chummy," Jane said in the car on the way to Trelmer's place.

"What the hell are you talking about? Who?"

"_Really _Korsak, who? Isles, or should I say `Doc'?" she replied.

"You're being ridiculous."

Korsak was greeted with silence and they pulled up to the house.

"I can't believe we are doing this for the second damn time today," Jane said, getting out of the car.

They walked up to the porch and rang the doorbell. Both detectives could have been knocked over with a feather when the door opened and there stood the identical spitting image of Jason Trelmer.

TBC

**Okay, so this one is kinda short, but I promise the next one will be longer and will have more Jane and Maura interaction! :-) Please read and review! Thanks - rutgers **


	5. Chapter 5

What a Pair - Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Rizzoli and Isles - the credit goes to Tess Gerritsen and TNT. I'm merely borrowing them for a fan fiction idea. Please read and review. Thanks.

A/N - This is set before Charles Hoyt and before Jane and Frost are partners. Also, the medical aspect may be a little bit off so please forgive.

A/N2 - DOH! Realized I forgot the disclaimer at start of chapter 4 - didn't own any of the R&I characters in that one either.

...

Joe Trelmer fell silent as he sat on the couch, staring up at the two detectives. Jane could tell he was trying not to cry by the way he kept swallowing, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down quickly. She sat down next to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Joe. You can cry," she said softly. At her words, the kid's wall crumbled down and Rizzoli took him in her arms.

Korsak was grateful at times like these that Jane was his partner. She really knew how to handle these situations - not that he didn't, but she was just much better at it.

"I'm sorry, Detective," he said, gently pulling away and wiping his eyes. Korsak spotted a box of tissues and handed a few to the kid.

"Hey, it's okay. Joe, where are your parents?" Jane asked.

"They died two years ago. It's just me, Jason and my older sister Jill."

"Sweetie, tell me about your brother. Did he run often?"

Joe had a faraway look in his eye. "Yeah, all the time. God, I can't believe this. I need to call Jill," he said.

"Does she live here with you?"

"Yes, she's at work right now though."

"Would you like us to notify her? We'll bring her home," Jane said, her hand on his shoulder.

He nodded.

"Did your brother have a girlfriend?"

"No."

"Joe, did your brother frequent any athletic clubs in addition to running?" Korsak asked?

Joe thought for a minute. "Yeah, we go to The Weight Room, in Needham. But why?"

Jane and Korsak exchanged glances.

"Did your brother know a guy named Brandon Gray?" Jane asked.

"Brandon and his brother Greg, yeah. Great guys. Two of the nicest guys you'd ever meet. Wait, why?"

`Crap,' Jane thought to herself, hating that she was going to have to break the news his friend was murdered too. Just then, Korsak stepped in.

"Brandon was killed today too, son. He was found in the Esplanade trails."

"Christ. How? What the hell is going on?"

Jane shook her head. "I don't know, Joe. But I promise you, we are going to find out. Come on, let's go get your sister - she will need you. We'll bring you home and Detective Korsak will drive her car back here."

"I gotta call Greg. "

She nodded. "If you guys can come up with anything at all, you call us, okay?"

"Yes, Detective," he said, drawing in a deep breath.

...

Jane and Korsak finally pulled back in front of the station around nine. It had been rough telling Jill Trelmer about one of her baby brothers.

"I'd go to Needham now, but I'm beat. We'll head there tomorrow, and pray that tonight no more new bodies show up on any running trails," Jane said, rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah, agreed," he said, going to his desk.

"Tomorrow is Friday, Korsak. It's definitely a night for the Dirty Robber. I'll see if Frankie wants to join us," she said.

"Yeah, that sounds good," he said, getting his things ready to go home.

"Okay. Goodnight Korsak."

"Goodnight."

...

Maura looked at her watch.

"God, how'd it get to be nine o'clock already?" she asked herself. She shut down everything for the night and headed out to the street, running into Korsak.

"Oh, hello Detect- I mean Vince," she said.

"Hi, Doc. Finally calling it a night?"

"Yes! It's been a very long day, as I'm sure you know."

"I wondered if maybe you'd be interested in going for a drink tomorrow night, Doc," he asked.

She smiled. "I'd love to, that would be great!"

"Good! Well, I'll touch base with you tomorrow then, okay?" he asked.

"Absolutely. Thank you. I know we didn't get to finish our conversation earlier today before Detective Cavewoman came in, but I'd still like to - maybe tomorrow we can," she said.

He broke into a laugh at Maura's comment. "Sure - we can do that," he said, still smiling.

"Great. Goodnight then."

"Goodnight."

"God, if Rizzoli would have heard that - " he started.

"If I would have heard what?"

Korsak jumped.

"Jesus Christ, Rizzoli! What the hell?"

"What? I forgot my phone on my desk, had to run back in real quick. Didn't meant to scare ya. If I would have heard what?"

"Nothin. Jesus," he said, still holding his heart.

Just then, Maura drove past them in a black, sleek Mercedes.

Jane scoffed. "Huh. Guess an ME gets paid a shitload of money while we, on the front lines, get the scraps. Nice."

Korsak rolled his eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time of the day.

"Jane - go home, have a beer and relax a bit, would ya? I'll see ya tomorrow," he said, walking away.

"Korsak, if I would have heard what?"

"Goodnight Jane," he said as he continued walking, waving behind him while ignoring her query.

She shook her head and went to her car to go home.

...

For one of the few times in her life, Maura drove home from work, smiling. Granted, Detective Vince Korsak was a little older than the type of guy she would normally be attracted to, but she thought he was very sweet and was very much looking forward to going out with him tomorrow night for a drink. Maybe she could learn to be attracted to him? "God, Maura, you're being ridiculous," she said to herself, cranking up the classical music and settling in for the twenty-minute ride to her home.

...

"Glad we got through the night with no phone calls," Jane said as she placed a large cup of coffee on Korsak's desk.

"You're tellin me. Thanks for this," he said, jutting his chin to the coffee.

"Welcome. God, I'm still exhausted and I fell right asleep."

"Yeah, me too. We should get rolling over to The Weight Room," Korsak said.

"Let's move."

...

"Ya know, those kids we found - this doesn't look like their type of gym," Jane said, gesturing to the place as they got out of the car.

"Their type of gym?"

"Yeah, you know - this looks too, crap, I don't know - urban?"

"Well, it's not a Planet Fitness if that's what you mean."

"Really? Planet Fitness? How would you know about Planet Fitness?"

She cracked under his glare and started laughing, clapping his shoulder.

"Mornin', I'm Detective Rizzoli and this is Detective Korsak," Jane said, unclipping her badge and showing it to the muscle head behind the counter.

"You mean Detective Hottie, right?" he said, leering and licking his lips.

"This is gonna be good," Korsak muttered to himself, with a small smile he tried to hide.

She shot Korsak a look. "Maybe the steroids are finally affecting your hearing," she said, putting on a sweet smile dripping with sarcasm.

The jerk behind the counter straightened up, looking a little more nervous than he did a minute ago.

"What can I help you with, detectives?"

"That's better. Thank you. You know Brandon Gray and Jason Trelmer?"

"Of course, great guys, both of them. Why you askin' about them, what did they do?"

"They've been murdered," Jane said.

Muscle head looked visibly shocked.

"Were either one of them having any problems with anyone here?" Korsak asked.

"No, not to my knowledge. They were just really great guys, good friends. Both had a passion for runnin' and obviously for liftin'," he said, gesturing with his hand to the gym area behind him.

"Can we get a list of your members?" Jane asked.

"Uh, yeah, okay. Hang on a second," he said, going to the computer to access the list and print it for them.

Korsak walked around while Jane waited at the counter.

"What's your name?"

"Mark."

"You got a last name?" she asked, sarcastically.

"Lendin," he said. "Here. Here's the list you requested."

Korsak spotted a lift chart on the wall - Brandon Gray and Jason Trelmer were both on it.

"Rizzoli, come here."

She walked over. "Check this out. A lift chart, both those kids could bench - and look, they were the top two."

"Wow. I mean, they looked like they were in great shape, but I didn't pin them to be able to bench that much weight," she said.

"Yeah, gimme that list," he said, taking it from her. He found all the names below the dead two and put a star by them on the list.

"What are you doing?"

He looked at her. "Jane, a lot of the people in these places get seriously competitive. I'm just saying, these other five guys on this chart may be a good place to start lookin."

"Good thinking, Korsak. Mark, here's my card," she said, walking back over to him. "If you can think of anything, call."

He nodded and took the card.

Once the detectives left the gym, Mark Lendin picked up the phone. "I think we have a problem, you need to get down here."

...

Once back at the station, Jane and Korsak ran all the names on the list of the names from the lift chart.

"Any hits, Jane?" Korsak asked, sitting back down at his desk.

"Nah. No criminal records, at least," she said, leaning back in her chair and rubbing her hands over her face. When she opened her eyes, her younger brother Frankie was standing there.

"I got your text about the Robber tonight, sounds like a good plan. When are we going?" he asked, sitting down at the chair beside Jane's desk.

"Whenever we're done for the day, Frankie. Jeez, you know we don't work on your schedule, we don't have set shifts," she said, playfully slapping her rookie brother's shoulder. "What are you on today?"

"Ugh, five to five," he said.

"So you still have a ways to go too. Assuming nothing breaks, we could probably be there around seven or maybe a bit later. You'll have time to go home and shower and all that," she said, throwing up her hand dismissively.

"You've only had one cup of coffee today, haven't ya, Janie?"

"How do you know that?"

He smiled. "Because the bitch meter is quickly creeping up."

"You'd better hightail it out of here, Junior," she said. "Before you see it go totally off the chart."

He stood up and leaned down to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Love ya. See ya later."

"Love you too."

TBC

**A/N 3 - I know I promised more Maura/Jane interaction in this chapter but it just didn't play out that way ... but trust me, that interaction is coming - I just needed to get through this stuff first. BUT ... I did make this one longer so 1 out of 2 ain't bad, right? - please continue to show the love and review! :-) - rutgers **


	6. Chapter 6

What a Pair - Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Rizzoli and Isles - the credit goes to Tess Gerritsen and TNT. I'm merely borrowing them for a fan fiction idea. Please read and review. Thanks.

A/N - This is set before Charles Hoyt and before Jane and Frost are partners. Also, the medical aspect may be a little bit off so please forgive.

Jane was staring at her computer monitor, zoning out, when her desk phone ringing pulled her out of thought.

"Rizzoli."

"Detective, it's Officer Tony Ramone down at the front desk. There's a young man here to see you, his name is Gregory Gray."

Hearing the name got her attention and Jane straightened in her chair.

"Great, Officer, thank you. I'll be right down," she said, hanging up the phone. She stood up and threw her blazer on. She scanned the bullpen for Korsak, but not seeing him, she grabbed her notebook and headed downstairs. Upon arriving, she found Greg Gray sitting in a chair in the lobby, clutching an envelope tightly in his left hand.

"Thanks, Tony," Jane said as she nodded to Officer Ramone. He smiled and nodded in return.

When Greg spotted Jane, he stood up. She approached him and extended her hand. "Hi, Greg," she said.

"Hello Detective. There someplace we could talk?" he asked.

"Sure. Come on," she said, putting her arm around his shoulder and leading him to The Bean off the lobby. "Can I get you a cup of coffee?"

"No, Ma'am. Thank you, though."

"Sure. So what brings you down here?"

He handed her the envelope. "I found this in my brother's desk drawer."

Jane took the envelope and opened it, taking out the single sheet of paper inside.

_Dear Brandon, _

_You're a perfect human specimen. I've watched you at the gym and have found it difficult to take my eyes off of you. I also know that you run, maybe we can run together. I'm anonymous for now, but if you'd like to meet me, I'll be at the Esplanade Thursday morning around six a.m. There's a bench at the head of the path, wait there and I'll find you._

_Hope to see you then._

Jane looked up. "Wow, Greg, thank you. Hang on one second," she said, getting up to get a bag from behind the counter.

"You're putting it in there so as not to get any more prints on it?" he asked.

She gave him a slight smile. "Yeah, exactly. You wanna be a cop?"

"I watch a lot of cop shows."

Maura walked in and couldn't help but snicker when she saw Rizzoli seemingly entertaining a much younger probable suitor. She glanced in her direction before heading up to the counter to place her afternoon coffee order. She was unable to resist taking a parting shot at the detective before heading back toward the morgue.

"A little young for you, isn't he, Rizzoli?" she uttered snidely, barely stopping to register the shock and the blush on Jane's face, as well as the mortified expression the kid was wearing.

"Dr. Isles, a word please," Jane said, biting out the words through clenched teeth, stopping Maura in her tracks.

"Excuse me a minute, Greg."

Jane got up, and with her hand on Maura's back, roughly pushed her out of the door of the shop.

"Unhand me right now, Detective," Maura fumed, shooting hazel daggers at Rizzoli.

Jane withdrew her hand and immediately ran it through her hair. "What the _fuck_?"

"Excuse me?"

"What was the purpose of that comment? Do you even know who that is at the table?" Jane hissed at her, her anger about to boil over.

Maura looked past her to the table, her brain suddenly registering she had seen that face before - yesterday, on her autopsy table.

"Oh my God."

"Yeah. And he's here to deliver evidence he found regarding his twin brother's murder. So maybe next time you decide you want to make a smart-assed remark, you get your fucking facts straight first. You got that, _Doctor_ Isles?"

Jane's dark eyes stared at her for one more minute, to emphasize her point. She thought she saw Maura starting to stammer to say something but was so far beyond angry that she didn't want to stand there and hear it - besides, she owed her a few times of that smart mouth not being able to form a quick-witted comeback.

"I'm sorry," Maura said, but Jane was already out of earshot to hear the soft-spoken apology.

"Greg, I, I, uh, I'm sorry about that," Jane said, sitting back down.

He smiled. "Hey, don't be. If the situation and the reason for my visit with you were different, I'd be the luckiest twenty-four-year-old guy in the world sitting across from you," he said, bowing his head shyly.

She felt her cheeks blush again and gently touched his hand. "Thank you. That's very sweet of you to say."

He nodded.

"How's your mom?"

Greg swallowed hard and shook his head.

She took his hand in hers. "It's going to be hard, Greg. You'll need to be there for each other. If there's ever anything I can do, please don't hesitate to contact me, okay?"

She could see the blush start in his neck. She slowly pulled her hand away, not wanting to give the kid wrong idea.

"Thank you, Detective Rizzoli. Well, that's all I found, I'm sorry I don't have anything else."

"What? No, Greg, no, this is huge. And if we can prints off this letter, you'll have given us the biggest break yet."

"I talked to Joe Trelmer. I can't believe it about Jason."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. How well did you know him?"

"Pretty well. Jason and Brandon met at the gym and when they discovered they were both twins, they suggested we all meet. We hung out pretty regularly. Great guys, both of them. Really."

She bit her bottom lip and nodded.

"I have to go, Detective, but will you please keep me posted?"

She stood and he followed suit. "Of course, Greg. Please, take care of yourself, and your mom."

"I will, thanks," he said, surprising her with a quick hug. She responded in kind and watched as he strode off.

She walked back into the lobby and saw Maura, who seemed to be waiting there for her. Just seeing her standing there brought Jane's blood back up to a boiling point. She saw her open her mouth to say something, her hand raising to flag her down, but without so much as a second glance, Jane continued on her path upstairs to show Korsak the letter.

Maura took a deep breath and headed back down to the morgue, something, she realized, she should have done just after she'd gotten her coffee, without making the comment she had made. She didn't feel badly about offending Rizzoli - no, she deserved anything Maura wanted to dish out at her. She felt badly about having made the comment in front of the young man who just lost his twin brother yesterday.

...

"Hey, Korsak, check this out," she said, seeing him at his desk. He took the bag from her, reading the letter.

"Holy crap, where'd ya get this, Rizzoli?"

"Greg Gray just came by. He found this in his brother's drawer. I'm about to head down to the crime lab to have it analyzed for prints," she said, turning around to head back out, but instead turned on one heel and spun back around.

"Oh, and your good _Doctor Isles_ walks by Greg and me in the coffee shop and decides to make a comment about the kid being a little young for me."

Korsak inwardly cringed. `Oh man, how the hell am I gonna pull tonight off?' he thought to himself, mentally face-palming himself.

"I mean, _really_? She just had the twin brother on her autopsy table yesterday! You accuse me of being rude and crass, Korsak, but Jesus, that was probably one of the most insensitive things I've ever seen. For someone who is _supposed_ to be smart, that sure as fuck was a dumb thing to do."

She then turned and headed out with the letter.

"Shit," Korsak uttered, reaching into his drawer for a double hit of Tums.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

What a Pair - Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Rizzoli and Isles - the credit goes to Tess Gerritsen and TNT. I'm merely borrowing them for a fan fiction idea. Please read and review. Thanks.

A/N - This is set before Charles Hoyt and before Jane and Frost are partners. Also, the medical aspect may be a little bit off so please forgive. Also, there is an author credit at the bottom of this chapter, don't want to give it away up here so it's mentioned at the end!

"Hey, Manny, can you please run this for prints?" Jane asked, bursting into the crime lab.

Manny looked up and smiled at her. He always had a bit of a crush on Jane. They had a cute little banter back and forth between them and the carrot of a date was always dangling in mid-air.

"I may be able to Rizzoli, it depends," he said, sitting back smugly in his chair.

"On what?" she asked, her hands on her hips and a slight smirk on her face.

"If you're going to finally go out to dinner with me."

"You know, Manny, that's sexual harassment," she said, the smile beginning to tug at her lips giving away her mock-serious tone.

He smiled and took the bag containing the letter. "Yeah, give me an hour."

"Thank you. And ya never know, you still may yet get that dinner," she said, winking at him as she turned to walk away.

"Oh, Jane Rizzoli, such a tease."

She turned and smiled at him over her shoulder before heading back up to the bullpen, passing Korsak as he left it.

"Where you goin?" she asked.

"Bathroom, maybe coffee, why?"

She shrugged. "Curious. I'm a detective, remember," she said, smiling and playfully hitting his shoulder.

He laughed, his smile dissipating as he turned and headed toward the morgue.

...

Maura lowered her laptop screen when she saw Korsak enter. She didn't need her colleagues knowing that in her downtime in the morgue she liked to indulge her passion for online shoe shopping.

"Hello, Vince," she said. "Are we still on for tonight?"

He smiled. "Of course, Doc. I'll meet you around eight o'clock at The Dirty Robber, okay?"

"Sure, that sounds fine, um, where exactly is The Dirty Robber and what is it?"

"It's a cop bar. Come out of the front of the station and head right one block, hang a left and it's right there, on Dorchester," he said, watching her as she plugged the information into her iPhone.

"Great, sounds fantastic. I'm really looking forward to it."

"Yeah, me too. I hear you had a little, um, run-in with Jane," he said, pulling up a chair.

She closed her eyes. "I really don't know how she and I are ever going to be able to work together, Vince. I know you aren't ever going to like every single person you work with but, you want to have some semblance of a cordial relationship. We don't, nor do I think we ever will."

"Oh, you will, Doc. Trust me. You will," he said, patting her hand. "I'll see you tonight."

Korsak had just about enough of this crap, these two women were going to start playing nice - he'd make sure of that.

...

"Hey, I'm getting out of here to go shower and stuff," Frankie said, coming up behind Jane.

"Yeah, okay. Wow, it's five-thirty already? Time flies," she said, looking away from her screen and at her brother.

"Yeah, well, for me it dragged on today."

"That's a good thing, Frankie. Too much action means too much shit happening in the city."

"Yeah, true. Okay, I'll grab a table at the Robber, I'm sure I will beat you there, anyway."

"Probably right. See ya over there."

As Frankie walked out, Manny stepped in.

"Oh, be still my heart," he playfully chimed. She smiled.

"Please tell me you got something for me."

"Please tell me you'll be having dinner with me at Gaslight."

"No way, it's at least gotta be Italian. Giacomo's - and that's my final offer."

"I'm going to hold you to that, Rizzoli. I got a partial print that isn't yours, the brother's or the victim's. I ran it but I got no hits. That print isn't in our system."

"Damn," she said, expelling a long, frustrated breath.

"Sorry, Rizzoli," he said, shrugging.

She sighed. "Well, thanks for bringing me the almost non-results. I appreciate it. How about lunch next week?"

"Sounds great."

...

"Korsak, it's seven o'clock, we got nothing. Let's just get out of here," she said.

He exhaled a deep breath, put a few Tums in his jacket pocket and got up. "I'm with ya, Rizzoli. Let's go."

...

Once there, they spotted Frankie in one of the big booths. "Nice, little bro, I love these booths, I can kick back and put my feet up," Jane said, sliding in next to him and stretching her legs across to the other side.

"Jesus, Janie, no one wants your hooves up here on these seats," he said, laughing. Korsak swatted her legs down so he could take his seat across from the siblings.

She shot him her typical glare and ordered a beer and a shot of tequila.

"Shots, Rizzoli, that a good idea?" Korsak asked.

"Sure, why not. You'll drive me home, right?"

Korsak smiled. "Yeah, I guess I kinda planned on it. Drink up."

...

Jane swigged from her bottle of MGD, noticing that Korsak's eyes kept darting toward the doorway.

"Korsak, why do you keep looking at the door?" she asked. "You got a date or somethin?"

"No."

...

Maura found The Dirty Robber with no problem and made her way up to the door. Her brain started working overtime. 'A cop bar, indeed,' she thought to herself. 'It seems nice enough, but it's not quite what I'm used to - but that's okay, Vince is more blue-collared and this is what he, perhaps, finds more comfortable. I can deal with this. To have a successful dating experience, there has to be a melding of likes and interests.'

She walked into the place and was rather impressed - it looked like a dive from the outside, but inside it really was a nice place. She spotted Vince in a booth about halfway inside the bar, but he didn't see her so she just walked over. Her jaw dropped when she found herself in front of the table with not only Vince, but a young and adorable guy and - oh - her favorite person, Jane Rizzoli.

"So, then I said - " Jane was in the middle of saying but the presence to her left side made her stop talking and turn her head. Maura and Jane stared at one another for a minute, then both women stared at Korsak, fired daggers.

"Korsak?"

"Vince?"

Jane's head whipped around to look at Maura.

"What the hell is going on here? What is _she_ doing here?"

"I, I thought, I'm, oh, I really shouldn't have come," Maura said, starting to turn around.

"_**HOLD IT**_," Korsak said, getting up out of his side of the booth. Maura froze in her tracks and Jane stared at him. "No one is going anywhere."

"Bullshit, Korsak, if she's stayin', I'm leavin'," Jane said, shaking her head and getting up out of the booth.

"Rizzoli, get your ass on this side of the booth, right now," he said, pointing to the side he just vacated. His tone indicated she should listen to him. She'd never heard that tone from him before in all of the three years they'd been partners. She weighed just being her typical stubborn self and walking out, but he looked extremely pissed and she decided not to push her luck. Rizzoli reluctantly sat down in Korsak's side of the booth. He nodded silently at her.

"Frankie, get out of that seat. Dr. Isles, please," Korsak said, motioning with his hand for her to sit across from Jane.

"Detective Korsak, I don't see a need for this."

"Dr. Isles, you are an extremely classy lady. I like you and I respect you. So please don't hold it against me forever when I say this to you - get your ass in that seat across from Jane."

Jane's jaw went slack.

Maura took a deep breath, tossed her hair and indignantly sat down across from Jane.

Korsak gave a sarcastic smile, Frankie stood there wondering just what the hell was happening.

"Dr. Isles, this young man is Jane's brother, Officer Frank Rizzoli. We call him Frankie," Korsak said.

Frankie extended his hand to Maura. "Nice to meet you," he said, smiling, yet hesitant.

"Um, you too."

"Now, Ladies, what can I get you from the bar?"

Jane rubbed her face with her left hand. "Fuck it. Another beer and a few shots of tequila - bring the bottle."

"Dr. Isles?"

She glared at him. "A glass of cabernet."

"Good. We'll be right back. Don't even think about getting up. Come on Frankie."

Frankie watched the two women from ten feet away at the bar while Korsak ordered. "What was that all about Vince?"

"I'm sick of those two and their bickering. They've known eachother for two days and have had a decent amount of interaction - two crime scenes - and I don't think they've said one civil word to one another. Plus two other blow ups. They have to learn to get along. I have a plan, but I'm going to need your help. So, tonight, you can't get sloshed. I promise you, I will buy all your drinks next time we go out."

"So, you are basically trying to force them to get along with this little number?"

Korsak nodded. "Sort of. I have another plan - but these two need a lot of alcohol."

"Why do I have a feeling my sister is going to be trying to kill one, or both, of us?"

"She may."

...

Jane and Maura sat across the table from one another, occasionally looking at the other, but not saying anything. Maura's arms were folded over her chest. Jane was fiddling around with a bottle cap in between her fingers. The only sounds coming from that booth were angry, frustrated sighs.

...

The rest of the night went on much the same way. Jane and Maura were involved in the conversations, but they were not directly speaking to eachother. Korsak and Frankie kept them plied with alcohol. Frankie knew Jane was well on her way to being loaded. Maura had even started to loosen up and was smiling and laughing.

"Why don't you just do a shot," the brunette slurred a bit as she passed the shotglass and the bottle over to Maura. "It may help relax you enough to get that stick out of your ass."

"No, thank you. I have found that people who partake in `doing shots', as you say, get so inebriated that they start acting like complete rude moronic idiots," Maura said, downing her third glass of cabernet and motioning for another. Frankie looked at Korsak and he nodded to go get it.

"Oh, come off it. Look at me, I'm doing shots."

"Precisely my point."

Jane gritted her teeth and just shot the doctor a nasty look. "Well, you kinda did walk into that one, Rizzoli," Korsak offered, sipping his club soda.

Again, she whipped her head around to redirect her dark-eyed glare at Korsak.

By midnight, Korsak felt it was safe to implement the second part of his plan. Both women were sufficiently drunk.

"Come on, ladies. Frankie and I will drive you home," Korsak said, getting up to go settle the tab at the bar.

They drove to Jane's apartment. "Come on Frankie, help me get Jane upstairs," Korsak said.

Jane and Maura were both practically falling asleep in the car. "Jane, come on. You too Maura, I don't want you alone out here while we get Jane settled," Frankie said, gently guiding Jane from the car, while Korsak guided Maura.

Once inside, Frankie unclipped Jane's gun and holster from her hip and placed it in her bedroom drawer.

"I have to use the bathroom," Jane said, stumbling into her bedroom.

"Me too," Maura said, her eyes closing on her.

They both used the bathroom. Frankie guided Jane to her bed, took her shoes off and put the blanket on her, laughing the whole time. Maura who had sat down just for a minute, fell into a slumber too. They put the blanket over her as well.

Frankie's eyes went wide at what Korsak did next. "Woah, Korsak," Frankie started.

"I know, I know. It's drastic, but this is the only thing I can think of," he replied. He pulled a package of post it notes from his pocket, brought specifically for this occasion and wrote out a quick note, sticking it on Jane's head. He put another note on the blanket covering her stomach.

"Okay, I got one more thing to do and we're out of here. You have a key to her door right, to lock up?"

"Yeah, I got that. Hang on," Frankie said, pulling out his cell phone.

"What are you doing?"

He laughed. "Are you kidding me? I'm takin' a picture of this."

Korsak laughed and went into the kitchen, coming back out a moment later. He wrote out one more post-it note and stuck it on Jane's end table.

"Let's go, Frankie," Korsak said.

They got outside, locked up and leaned against the door to Jane's apartment.

"There's no doubt about it, Korsak. You know she's going to try to kill us, right?"

He sighed. "Yes. I'm almost tempted to take her gun."

...

Jane's head was absolutely throbbing and it felt like a hundred rocks had taken residence in her skull. Without opening her eyes, she went to rub her face with her left hand, only to discover it felt weighed down.

"Fuckin' tequila," she said aloud.

Again without opening her eyes, she ran her right hand over her face and eyes, trying to clear the cobwebs, when her hand hit the post-it note on her forehead.

"What the fuck?"

She opened her eyes and carefully moved her pounding head to the left. To her shock and disbelief, she saw Maura Isles - in her bed - lying next to her, her right hand cuffed to Jane's left. Her eyes came back to the post-it note in her hand.

_Sorry, Jane, but this is the only way I could get through to you and Dr. Isles. You are both strong, headstrong and stubborn women, not to mention professionals. Time to start acting like it. _

She saw the next post-it on her stomach.

_You two need to start learning to work together - look at this as a team-building exercise. _

She looked back over at Maura, lifting her left hand. The doctor didn't budge.

Jane let out a deep sigh of resignation. Never in her life was she more sure of anything as she was of the following three things - she never had to pee so badly in her life, she would never again drink as much as she had the previous night, if she ever drank again and thirdly - one Detective Vince Korsak was a fucking dead man.

TBC

Okay, so I hope you all like this. This is the start of the "common ground." Sorry it took me so long to get here! The last scene of this chapter was actually the little plot bunny for this whole dang story.

Credit to jfiggaz for the post-it on the head!


	8. Chapter 8

What a Pair - Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Rizzoli and Isles - the credit goes to Tess Gerritsen and TNT. I'm merely borrowing them for a fan fiction idea. Please read and review. Thanks.

A/N - This is set before Charles Hoyt and before Jane and Frost are partners. Also, the medical aspect may be a little bit off so please forgive.

Jane groaned, not looking forward to having to wake up the doctor.

"Isles, wake up," Jane said in her husky morning voice, her cuffed left hand hitting the ME's right.

It took a minute for the blonde to stir, but she finally did. "Oh my God, my head. Must you always be so loud, Rizzoli?" she asked. And as the last syllable rolled off her tongue, her eyes popped open. Jane could tell she was frightened for a moment before she looked over and saw the detective. Right at that moment, confusion suddenly registered. Jane's jaw dropped to her chest and her eyes widened when she witnessed Maura look under the blanket.

"Uh, really? Why the _hell_ did you just look under the blanket?" Jane asked.

"I'm making sure I'm decent."

Jane shook her head slightly to clear it. "And what on this green Earth would make you think you wouldn't be decent?"

"Well, I'm lying in a bed, next to you and - what the - just _what _exactly is this?" Maura asked, lifting up her right hand. "Detective, this is not the least bit funny."

Jane gave her the most sarcastic glare she could muster, being as that it hurt to narrow her eyes even the most minimal amount. "Do you see me laughing? And what do you mean, you're lying in a bed next to me? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, you know, I thought, I mean, you come off as, um - " Maura stammered but Jane cut her off.

"And, even if I were, which I'm _not, _what does that say about you?"

"That I was inebriated out of my mind."

"Wow, all those brains and you don't know the cardinal rule to never assume?" Jane said, staring at the doctor and shaking her head in disbelief.

She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. She'd never met anyone else in this world who could get under her skin as much as this woman. Okay, well, Crowe could - he was a complete ass. But the doctor was rapidly moving into that category. Yeah, Korsak was definitely a dead man.

"Anyway, you'd better start explaining this," Maura said, her tone now harsher as she lifted up her right hand and jiggled the cuffs, pulling Jane's attention back.

"You think _I_ did this? Uh, there are a million other people I could think of that I'd rather be handcuffed to, thank you. Here," she said, thrusting the post it notes at Maura.

The detective watched the doctor's brow furrow and then a deep blush begin to creep up her neck and to her cheeks. Maura closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose with her left hand.

"Please tell me you have a spare set of keys to these things."

"Of course I do," Jane scoffed. "They are in the living room end table."

"Well, let's go get them. I want out of these things."

They both slowly sat up, Jane rolling her neck from side to side, cracking it. Maura looked over, repulsed. "Really, must you do that?"

"Yeah, it makes me feel better, why? Do you have a problem with it?"

"Well, for one, it's not auditorily pleasing. Secondly, you can really hurt yourself that way. It causes hypermobility in the joint, which leads to the stretching of ligaments to unstable levels. This leads to osteoarthritis, which in turn can cause a stroke."******

Jane raised an eyebrow at her. "God, if Google could talk, I'm pretty sure that's what it would sound like. Thanks I'll try to keep that in mind " Jane said sarcastically, rubbing her eyes. "Well, shove on over this way, Doctor, so we can go get these off."

They maneuvered off the bed, Maura having to slide all the way over to get off beside Jane. The detective's instincts kicked into gear and she led the way to the living room, stopping short when she saw one of those damned yellow post-its stuck to the end table - the same end table where she kept her spare handcuff key.

"Oh, no. Please, no," she muttered, rushing to the table, practically dragging Maura behind her.

"Ow, Rizzoli - come on," she said.

Jane snatched up the note, her anger brewing inside her like a raging storm.

_I'll bet you're looking for that spare key you once told me you kept in this table, Jane. Nice thought, but no dice. There is a key - well hidden in your apartment. Good luck. Your car keys are on the table by the door and your car is parked in its usual spot. Oh, and I'm working on the case and files at the office, so no need to worry about that. Remember, you and Isles are part of a team - so act like it and work together. _

"God, who the fuck knew - Vince Korsak - motivational speaker," Jane said sarcastically.

"What does that note say?"

Wordlessly, Jane handed it to the doctor, who Jane would swear actually emitted a low, really pissed-off growl.

"We have another problem, I really have to pee," Jane said.

"Me too. Wonderful, this is just really, really fantastic," Isles said, beginning to get really flustered.

"Are you lefty or righty?" Jane asked, looking down at their hands.

"Righty. You?"

Jane held up her left hand, pulling Maura's right one up with it as she gave her a tight smile.

"Come on," Jane said, leading Maura to the bathroom.

"Yeah, and now what, Sherlock?"

"Oh, yeah, that's cute ... Sherlock, because I'm a detective," Jane said, a sickeningly sweet tone in her voice. Then, the snark returned. "We're going to just have to suck it up. Turn on the faucet, close your eyes, do whatever, but we both have to go. Once we get through this agony, then we can focus on finding this damn hidden key."

Maura fired her a look of disdain. "You want me to urinate while you're standing there? I absolutely refuse, Rizzoli. No."

"Well, your choice I guess," Jane said, moving toward the bathroom, with Maura having no choice but to follow.

Once outside the door, Jane paused for a second. As badly as she did have to go, she didn't particularly relish the fact that the doctor would be standing right there. Deciding she had no other choice, she stepped in.

"Okay, look. Just stand facing the door, put on the faucet so you won't really hear it. I mean, you're a doctor right? You've seen a lot worse than this."

"I'm a pathologist, I don't work with live patients, in case you hadn't noticed."

Maura turned toward the door and put the water on, as Jane had suggested. Her right arm stretched behind her, she drummed the fingers of her left hand against her thigh. The sound of the running water making it impossible for her to focus on anything else other than the fact that she did have to go so badly.

Once Jane was done, she washed her hands and started to prod Maura out the door. "Wait, I have to go," she said, reluctantly.

"Thought you absolutely refused," Jane questioned.

Ignoring her snark, Maura looked and tried to figure out the best way to go about it.

"Since you're right-handed, I'll have to just step in front of you and cross my left arm behind my back ... I'll step toward the wall as far as I can without pulling your arm out of the socket," Jane offered.

The detective faced the wall but didn't hear anything.

"Isles, come on, what are you doing?"

"It's not easy trying to urinate with your gluteus maximus practically in my face."

Jane let out a laugh. "Well, from the statement you made in the other room, I thought maybe it wouldn't bother you."

Maura breathed out her frustration in a sigh. "Shut up, Rizzoli."

The plan worked and Maura washed her hands and they headed back out to the living room. Jane picked up her phone to dial Korsak.

...

Korsak's phone ringing brought him out of thought as he went through the list of names from The Weight Room. He looked, seeing exactly the number he expected. He weighed whether to answer it - knowing his ear would no doubt be accosted by a long streak of very colorful words. Against his better judgment, he clicked the answer button.

"Korsak."

"Where is the key?"

"Goodmorning, Jane."

"Don't `goodmorning' me, Korsak. Where the _fuck _is the key?" Jane hissed.

TBC

Good place to stop? :-) Don't worry, I'm not done with this part yet! Please, please, please read and review! Thanks - rutgers

** info on neck cracking from Health Guidance website.


	9. Chapter 9

What a Pair - Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Rizzoli and Isles - the credit goes to Tess Gerritsen and TNT. I'm merely borrowing them for a fan fiction idea. Please read and review. Thanks.

A/N - This is set before Charles Hoyt and before Jane and Frost are partners. Also, the medical aspect may be a little bit off so please forgive.

A/N 2 - I meant to say this in the last update but I forgot - thank you all sooo much for all the reviews! They are inspirational and very much appreciated. I usually get a chance to reply individually to each review - especially those who review consistently every chapter - but time has gotten away from me, so a big group thank you! :-) - rutgers

"Jane, calm down," Korsak said.

"Calm down? Are you kidding? Korsak, this is the most humiliating thing I've ever had done to me. Did you think about the fact we would have to use the bathroom, dumbass?"

Jane's temper started to really flare when she heard him laughing on the other end of the phone.

"It's _not_ funny, Korsak," she said, a thought dawning on her mind. "Was my no good little runt of a brother in on this too? Was he?"

"Jane, look. I know you're pissed off right now. Put me on speaker," Korsak said.

"Pissed off doesn't even begin to describe it. You know, you and Frankie are both dead when I get out of this and get my hands on you," she said, sighing deeply and hitting the button for speaker.

"Vince, I'm not very happy about this. I happen to have plans this evening," Maura fibbed, hoping it may get them out of this predicament sooner rather than later. She couldn't actually like or she'd be hyperventilating right now. She kind of had plans, only they involved being at the morgue cleaning. "I thought last night, when you asked me out for a drink, that it was a date."

Jane laughed out loud. "What?"

"Why is that so funny, Jane?" Korsak asked.

"Because, she and you," Jane said, motioning between the phone and Maura with her right hand. "Um, no."

"Well, just because Vince is substantially older than me, it's not impossible."

"Woah, hey Doc. Watch it with 'substantially'," he said. "Under any other circumstances, maybe it would have been a date. Look, you agreed to come have a drink and you wanted an answer about why Jane is the way she is - well, now you'll get to find out first hand. No better way than that."

"Well, yes, I did want to talk about that - but what you did really wasn't fair, Vince."

Jane, for what seemed like the twentieth time in the short period they'd been awake, stared at Maura, this time, rapidly tapping her foot with her right hand on her hip.

"What do you mean, `why Jane is the way she is'?" Jane asked.

Maura narrowed her eyes at her.

"On that note, ladies, have a good day."

"Hey, Korsak, wait," Jane said. "The case?"

"I don't have anything yet, Jane. Still going through all the names. I may go take another shot at The Weight Room. I got this covered. You and Dr. Isles have your own work to do this weekend."

"You're going to go without me?"

"You know I will fill you in on whatever I find, if I even find anything at all."

"I know. You're still a dead man, Korsak. And you never did answer ... did the runt help you? How the fuck did you even accomplish this?"

"All secrets, my dear Jane, all secrets."

"Which you'll spill when my hands begin to close around your damn throat."

"At least tell us why."

Silence on the line.

"Korsak? We deserve that much."

"I think my notes to you explained exactly why."

And with that, Korsak hung up.

"Can't you try calling your brother?"

Jane thought for a minute, considering Maura's suggestion. She then shook her head. "No, that won't do any good. Little punk-ass is probably hiding right now, because he knows if I find him, I'll kill him. We just have to start looking. We'll start by the television and work our way around the room."

Jane pulled two little flashlights out of the end table drawer, handing one to Maura. "Thanks."

Without thinking, Jane went to scratch an itch on her face with her left hand - and ended up being smacked in the face by Maura's attached right hand. "Really? Come on!"

"Don't blame me, you did that all on your own."

Rizzoli grumbled as she shined the light over every nook and cranny she could locate. Maura shined hers all along the entertainment center as well, both coming up empty after twenty minutes of searching.

Maura let out a frustrated sigh. "This is just ridiculous."

"Well, I don't like it one bit either - I mean, do you think this is how I planned to spend my Saturday?"

As they started to make their way from the television area, Jane tried to stifle a few giggles that were bubbling to the surface.

Finally, Maura sighed and tugged her right hand purposely to tug's Jane's. "What is so funny. Can you please start searching? I don't want to be here all day." Her tone though, betrayed her expression, as she felt a small smile start to tug at her lips.

Finally, Jane couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.

"Come on ... what?"

"You and Korsak? Oh my God," Jane sputtered out between laughs, holding her stomach.

"What's so funny? He's a charming man!"

Jane really lost it and had to lean on the tall entertainment center. Despite her perpetual aggravated state toward the detective, Maura found herself laughing too.

"Charming? Come on, Isles, really? Korsak ... charming?"

The two women were sharing a very civil moment for the first time since they met Thursday. Jane tried to regain her composure and just the thought of Isles and Korsak together made it impossible. She fell onto the floor, huddling her knees against her chest, unable to control her laughter. Soon, Maura sat on the floor too, the two of them laughing until tears were rolling down both of their faces. After twenty minutes of uncontrollable laughter, they stood up.

"Okay, okay, we gotta find this key. But I really need some coffee," Jane said, running her right hand through her hair.

"Oh, come on, Rizzoli, if you drink coffee, you're going to have to urinate again. Can't you wait until we find the key?"

"Hey, either it's you put up with hearing what sounds like running water or you put up with me being a bitch until I have coffee."

"Hmm, well, that is a tough choice, but since I'm already semi-professional in the second category, I'll take the latter."

Jane's dark eyes rose to meet Maura's and the two started laughing again.

"Come on," Jane said, leading them to the kitchen. She started a pot of coffee. "Are you hungry? I have some English muffins, fruit or cereal. I would offer to whip up some eggs but that's not really gonna happen in these." She rattled the cuffs for effect.

"Just coffee for now will be fine, thanks."

"So, um, did you really think Korsak asked you out on a date?" Jane asked, quirking an eyebrow at her.

Maura shook her head in disbelief. "I'm not stupid, Detective we were standing outside the station - this is exactly how the conversation went - he said to me `I wondered if maybe you'd be interested in going for a drink tomorrow night, Doc.' I said, `I'd love to, that would great.', " she said. "He then said `Good, well I'll touch base with you tomorrow then.' I then made reference to a conversation we were having earlier in the day that I wanted to finish but we didn't have the chance because you walked in."

Her hazel eyes suddenly went wide when she realized she probably shouldn't have mentioned that last part. Jane met her eyes with a dark stare. "Oh, let me guess, must be the conversation about why I am the way I am," she supplied, tilting her head, a slight smile appearing.

"Well, okay, yes, that's exactly what the conversation was about. Only we never got to finish it because you came in."

Jane thought back to outside the precinct and guessed that's what Korsak was talking about when she'd heard him utter `if Rizzoli would have heard that.' But, from what Maura described, it did sound to Jane like Korsak asked her out.

"You know, he lured you there, right?"

Maura sighed. "Yes, I've since figured that out, Rizzoli. Thank you."

"Okay, so what is it exactly that you want to know?"

"What?" Maura asked, confused.

"About me. You're obviously very curious about something regarding me - so what is it? I mean, afterall, I'm probably the best source, right?"

Maura stared at her for a minute, weighing whether or not she should actually get into this conversation with the detective.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

What a Pair - Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Rizzoli and Isles - the credit goes to Tess Gerritsen and TNT. I'm merely borrowing them for a fan fiction idea. Please read and review. Thanks.

A/N - This is set before Charles Hoyt and before Jane and Frost are partners. Also, the medical aspect may be a little bit off so please forgive.

A/N2- And thank you all so much again, this story has broken the 100 review mark and I'm so appreciative and happy that you all like it so much! Thank you!

...

Mark Lendin took out his keys to open The Weight Room and was surprised to find the door already opened. He cautiously put his bag down and looked around, wondering just what was going on. Nothing seemed to be amiss, but he knew it was best to proceed with caution.

"It's just me, Mark," Tim Adams, the owner of the gym, called out from the office behind the counter.

"Oh. Hey, didn't realize you were coming so early," Lendin said.

"Well, after you called me yesterday once the detectives left, I decided I should get here as soon as possible. I don't want my gym getting bad press - two guys who frequent this place got killed. That's not gonna bode well for business," Adams said.

Lendin couldn't argue that point. "Yeah, I guess. I mean, I only called you because this is your place. I'm not really sure that you're being here will stop any kind of bad press."

Adams sighed. "You're right, it may not. But at least being here I can keep a closer eye on things. Maybe notice more suspicious activity or something."

"Maybe," Lendin said, putting his bag behind the counter.

...

Korsak stood up from his desk and stretched, the long hours in his chair finally catching up with him. He wondered how Rizzoli and Isles were faring in their quest to find the key. Just then Frankie, in uniform, walked in to the bullpen.

"Any word on if Jane and the Doc are still joined at the wrist?" Frankie asked, smirking.

"I last talked to them about an hour ago, and they were. But beware, your sister is hot under the collar, as we expected. I think she is going to make an attempt on both of our lives."

Frankie laughed, pulling out his cell phone and bringing the photo up on the screen. "Nah, she'll retreat when she sees this little tidbit."

Korsak laughed. "Yeah, you should know by now, Frankie - Jane does not retreat. The woman is like a damned bulldog."

Just then, Korsak's desk phone rang. "Great, it's probably Jane again," he said, looking down at it and sighing. "Korsak."

"Detective, it's Ramone down in the main. I have Charles O'Reilly down here asking to see Rizzoli but I don't have her logged in. He says its related to a case she's working on, can you come down?"

"Yeah, I'll be right down. Thanks."

...

Korsak met Charles O'Reilly down in the main lobby of the station.

"Hi. I'm Detective Korsak," he said, extending his hand. "How can I help you?"

The dark-haired man of no more than twenty-three years shook Korsak's offered hand.

"I'm Charles O'Reilly, sir. I go by Charlie. I was friends with Brandon Gray and Jason Trelmer."

Korsak scanned the list in his hand that he had brought down from his desk. There it was - Charlie O'Reilly - third on the lift chart that had been posted on the wall at the gym.

"Come on, son, let's go up to my desk. Can I get you a cup of coffee or anything?"

"No, sir, I'm fine," he said, but Korsak could tell he was shaken up. Putting his arm around the kid's shoulders, he led him upstairs to the bullpen.

...

"Well, are you going to look at me all day or are you going to ask your question?" Jane asked, impatiently.

"Questions."

"Questions? Great, what am I - one of the world's greatest mysteries?"

Maura tilted her head and looked at her. "Well, you are kind of an enigma. It's a puzzle."

Deep sigh. "I _know_ what an enigma is, thank you. And I also know that I am the furthest thing from being one."

"Not to me."

Jane took out two coffee cups and filled them and with Maura in tow, got the needed accompaniments. She then motioned for Maura to sit across from her at the kitchen counter and they prepared their coffee, their cuffed hands resting closely on the counter.

"Okay, I think I'm ready for the inquisition," Jane said sarcastically.

Maura, trying to compose what she was going to say, said nothing and deliberately sipped her coffee. Jane's dark eyes searched hers expectantly. The silence was deafening.

...

Korsak held the letter Charlie gave him by the edge. It was very similar to the letter Brandon Gray had received.

_Dear Charlie,_

_You are beautiful. I've watched you at the gym and have found it difficult to take my eyes off of you. I also know that you run, maybe we can run together. I'm anonymous for now, but if you'd like to meet me, I'll be at the two-mile mark of the Charles River Tuesday morning around six a.m. I'll find you and reveal myself and hopefully we can run together._

_Hope to see you then._

"I brought that because I had talked to Greg Gray and he told me Brandon received something like this. So I'm freaked out."

"You did real good, kid. This gives us a lead. You can't share this information though, with anyone. You got that?"

"Yes, sir. I understand. So what do I do now?"

"You stay put at home. We have a solid lead here and can't have you doing anything to jeopardize it. Okay? So please, go home, stay there for a few days. Hopefully by Tuesday morning, we'll have a suspect. You don't have any clue who this could be from? No one's approached you at the gym or anything?"

Charlie shook his head. "No. I don't."

Korsak studied O'Reilly. He was about as tall as Jane.

"Tell me, son, what do you wear when you run?"

"Baseball cap, running pants, t-shirt, sunglasses ... why?"

Jane could easily get into that get up, Korsak thought. "Just needed to know. Thanks for this, kid. Remember, not a word to anyone. Go home and stay there. I'll drive you there myself if you want."

"No, it's okay. I have my car, but thanks."

"And I will update you."

"Thanks, Detective," Charlie said. Korsak could tell he was shaken up.

"It'll be okay, Charlie. We'll get them."

Korsak walked Charlie down, dropped the letter off at the crime lab to be submitted for prints, then headed back up to his desk to find Jason Trelmer's file. He dialed the phone number on file.

"Hello?"

"Joe. Hello, it's Detective Korsak, I was wondering if I may talk to you for a minute."

"Of course, Detective," he replied.

"Do you know if your brother received an anonymous letter from someone at The Weight Room?"

"Greg asked me that too - I don't know. I didn't find anything, but I didn't go to his locker at the gym yet either. I have the key for it, if you'd like it."

"Yeah, I think I would. Can I come get it from you?"

"Of course. Do you have any leads yet?"

"We may. Look, I'm on my way over now, okay?"

"Okay."

Korsak hung up the phone. He knew Jane was going to be monumentally pissed off at him for not picking her up, but he was confident he could handle this one on his own. He did need to inform her of the fact she'd be going undercover at the crack of dawn Tuesday morning, though.

...

"Isles! Earth to Isles," Jane said, waving her right hand in front of Maura's face to get her attention.

Maura focused and pulled herself out of her thoughts - her thoughts of what she would say to Jane.

"Where the hell did you go? I've been sitting here lookin' at your mug for ten minutes."

"Why would you be staring at my coffee mug for ten minutes?" Maura questioned, confused.

Jane face-palmed herself, shaking her head. "Not your coffee mug, it's another word for your face. Wow, I've never met _anyone_ who takes things as literally as you do."

Maura paused for another minute and Jane's frustration level rose. "Come on already."

"Okay. You're a woman," Maura said.

Jane nearly spit out her coffee. "Wow, and I thought I'm the detective. _Great_ observation, Doctor."

Ignoring her smart ass remarks, Maura continued. "You've obviously worked hard to get where you are - after all I guess it can't be easy to be in your male-dominated field."

Jane shrugged, waiting for Maura to get to what she had a feeling was going to be a very long-winded point. "Of course I've worked hard - and your point is ... ?"

"So it should come as no surprise to you that both you and I are in the same boat. I mean, medical examiners are mainly men. I worked hard to get where I am too."

Jane leaned in a little, unaware she was doing so.

"Isles, this is the longest preamble I've ever heard. I'm assuming you really do have a question or at least a point to make here?"

"I do. I want to know why a woman, in a similar situation as myself, would purposely make me feel more disrespected on a professional level than any man ever has."

Jane's coffee cup stopped midway up to her lips and her jaw went slack.

Maura slowly leaned back in her chair and sipped her coffee, her eyes glued to Jane's, awaiting her response.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

What a Pair - Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Rizzoli and Isles - the credit goes to Tess Gerritsen and TNT. I'm merely borrowing them for a fan fiction idea. Please read and review. Thanks.

A/N - This is set before Charles Hoyt and before Jane and Frost are partners. Also, the medical aspect may be a little bit off so please forgive.

A/N2- And thank you all so much again, this story has broken the 100 review mark and I'm so appreciative and happy that you all like it so much! Thank you!

...

Maura let out a deliberately long breath, her hazel eyes still silently drilling into Jane like lasers.

Jane tried to make light of the situation. "Um, wow, that's quite the zinger," she said, a smile tugging at her lips. It came to her immediate attention, however, that now was not the time for a joke. Isles was pissed and she wanted an answer.

"I'm waiting."

Jane thought for a moment, trying to compose her answer. She sighed. "Okay. I have two brothers. I've always had to play hardball. I've always had to fight for everything I've earned. Even though I'm a woman, I do play the game like a guy," Jane said.

"Because you're like a guy."

"Excuse me?"

"You are. You're a dominant individual. It's not a bad thing, it just seems to be how you are."

"Do you want my answers or do you just want to make them up yourself, because that's fine with me, since you have obviously already made up your mind," Jane said, sarcastically.

Maura threw up her left hand in deference as a sign for Jane to continue.

"Anyway, I want respect when it comes to my work ethic and the way I handle a crime scene. I'm motivated and driven and I always want to be first. And I'm always competing with the men. Not Korsak, but jerk-offs like Crowe and Rollins. Those guys are complete dicks."

She paused, expecting the doctor's mouth to pop open again with another annoyingly correct observation. It didn't so she opened her mouth to proceed but it turns out Maura was just a little late with her thought.

"Why would anyone not respect you? Because you're a bitch at the crime scene? You can be a strong, determined female detective without being a bitch."

Jane regarded her for a moment. "I guess I deserved that."

"You did," Maura affirmed.

Jane rolled her eyes.

"Anyway," Jane said, making it abundantly clear she wanted to move on. "Yes. I've been disrespected as both a uniformed officer and a detective."

She recounted what had gone on between her and Darren Crowe her first day in the bullpen.

Maura watched Jane's eyes and could see the anger flaring in them as she told the story.

"After that day, Maura, I decided my exterior was going to be so tough to crack, no one was going to get through - not while I'm on the job. I didn't and don't want to have to be constantly proving myself."

The fact that Jane used Maura's first name in addressing her was not lost on her - it was the first time she had done so. But as far as she was concerned, her direct question had yet to be answered.

"I get that, Jane. I do. But that doesn't quite explain why your ire was directed at me the other day."

"Well, it's not out of line to want some sort of information at the scene, it helps me begin to do my job, which is solving the case. It comes from my desire to be first. But let's not absolve you of all guilt here, Doctor. You gave it right back to me."

"Well, Detective, if you think I'm going to just stand there and take whatever you feel like throwing, you've got another thing coming."

For a few minutes, neither woman said anything - they just sipped their coffee in companionable silence.

"Look, I know it goes against how you operate but can you please try to give me something - anything - at the scene?" Jane asked, almost pleading.

"I can try. But it won't be complete and it won't be confirmed until I perform the autopsy. Which, by the way, I have an open-door policy on autopsies."

"What do you mean?"

"You can come in and watch any autopsy being done, it may be quicker than waiting for the report."

Jane nodded. "Thank you. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry for acting like an ass and for disrespecting you. You know, we being the only two women, we need to kinda stick together I guess."

"I accept your apology. I apologize too for my comments yesterday afternoon."

"That's all you're apologizing for? Really?" Jane said.

"Why else would I apologize?"

Jane shook her head as a slight smile overtook her visage. She stood and stuck out her right hand. "Hi. I'm Detective Jane Rizzoli. We'll be working together and it's nice to meet you."

Maura looked at Jane's face and then down at her hand. Deciding this was Rizzoli's version of a peace offering, she raised her cuffed hand to shake the hand the detective offered. "I'm Doctor Maura Isles, Chief Medical Examiner. It's nice to meet you too."

Jane stared for a moment. "Really? You had to go and throw Chief Medical Examiner in there, you couldn't just stop at Doctor?"

"Well, it's my official title, Jane."

Jane shook her head. She wondered if she really would be able to hold to the deal she just made and if she'd be able to really have a solid working relationship with this woman. She also had a feeling there were going to be many more frustrating moments down the line.

...

Korsak arrived at the gym with the key to Jason Trelmer's locker. Upon walking in, he immediately recognized Lendin behind the counter. He walked past, unnoticed, as Lendin's attention was currently being consumed by some young thing flirting over the counter. Korsak felt like telling her to move on from that loser, but decided against it. He still couldn't believe that kid had the audacity to call Rizzoli "Detective Hottie" - not that it wasn't a little funny, but, Jane let him off a hell of a lot easier than he expected she would.

Upon finding the locker, he put on gloves and opened it, carefully sifting through its contents. His eyes automatically scanned to an opened envelope toward the side. He opened it, not surprised to find the note that told Jason Trelmer where to go to meet his end. He bagged the letter and the rest of the contents of the locker. Korsak slipped out of the gym virtually unnoticed, as muscle head was still entranced by the same girl he'd been talking to for the last five minutes.

As Korsak got in the car, he knew he should go release Jane and the Doc. He would maybe go check on them later and fill Jane in on the case - maybe. It could wait until Monday and he knew it probably would.

...

Two hours after having their coffee, Jane and Maura were still searching for the key.

"You know, I seriously have better things to do than play this fucking game of The Legend of Zelda," Jane said, turning over a vase to check the bottom.

"Legend of Zelda? What?"

"It's a game from when I was kid. It's about finding a damn key - it annoyed me then and it's really annoying the shit out of me now."

"Do you always talk like that?"

Jane sighed. "Like what?"

"Do you always you that language?"

Jane rolled her neck, trying to keep the frustration level low. "I would think you know the answer to that by now."

Maura nodded her head and stretched, raising Jane's left arm with hers.

"Okay, how long have we been at this? I'm getting hungry now."

"I offered to make you an English muffin before! Um, it's about eleven o'clock."

"Can't we run out and get some food?"

Jane shot her a glare. "Oh, sure, yeah, let's just get a sweater to throw over the cuffs and we can walk out holding hands."

"Okay, that's fine."

"Isles, Jesus, I was _kidding._ No. I'll be happy to make you something."

Maura weighed the options. "What do you have in there?" she asked, hesitantly.

"Why do you sound afraid?"

Maura scrunched up her nose. "I don't know, I just imagine you having a fridge with moldy food and spoiled milk. Like a guy."

"Like a g- what? Really? Are you serious?"

Maura burst out laughing. Jane looked skyward, shaking her head and gritting her teeth.

"You're kinda easy, Rizzoli."

"You're kinda easy, Rizzoli," Jane repeated in her best mocking tone.

"Come on, you can choose some moldy bread for your toast," Jane said, smiling and pulling Maura with her to the kitchen.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

What a Pair - Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Rizzoli and Isles - the credit goes to Tess Gerritsen and TNT. I'm merely borrowing them for a fan fiction idea. Please read and review. Thanks.

A/N - This is set before Charles Hoyt and before Jane and Frost are partners. Also, the medical aspect may be a little bit off so please forgive.

A/N2- And thank you all so much again, this story has broken the 100 review mark and I'm so appreciative and happy that you all like it so much! Thank you!

Korsak was finally ready to call it a day. It was already four o'clock and he had bagged all the contents of Jason Trelmer's gym locker and had the crime lab run the letter for any forensic evidence - which had turned out fruitless. He wondered if Jane and Maura had found the key he had hidden. He hadn't heard from her again, so he would go with the assumption they had. He would just update Jane on everything Monday morning, including the fact that Tuesday, she'd be going undercover - as a guy going running. He chuckled to himself, knowing she'd be absolutely _thrilled._

...

"I need a break, Maura," Jane said, her frustration level almost at its peak. "We've been at this since this morning. It's now almost four o'clock, I'm hungry, I'm tired, not to mention beyond pissed."

"I'm hungry too," Maura said, walking over to the couch. She and Jane plopped down, each leaning their head back. "Let's just break down and beg Vince to tell us where the key is hidden."

Jane's head shot up. "What? Oh, hell no! No!"

"This is not the time for that stupid pride of yours to prevent you from doing the intelligent thing."

"Stupid pride? No. I'm not letting him win. No. No way. I'll - we'll find that key."

"He's already won, Jane."

Jane stared at her for a minute and laughed. "Shit, you're right. He has. We're working together and talking, aren't we?"

Maura nodded.

"Well, good. But, I'm still not calling him. And, as far as he's going to know, we found that key a half hour after calling him," she said, looking at the clock and remembering when they had spoken. "Five hours ago."

Maura gave a little, sarcastic laugh. "What? No. I'm not going to lie."

" I'm not going to admit it took us this long and ... we _still_ haven't found the damn thing."

" And you wondered before why I said you are like a guy?"

Jane exhaled. " Really, Maura? Really?"

The ME couldn't help but laugh at Jane's reaction. She still wasn't quite sure what to make of the detective, but there was one thing she was sure of - that she liked her a whole lot more than she did two days ago.

"Jane, stop getting so offended by that. It's a compliment, of sorts."

"Yeah, it's the `of sorts' part of it I don't really appreciate!"

"You know what you want and you go after it and get it. A lot of women don't take the initiative to do that. That's a very male-like thing to do."

"Okay, can you please just stop referring to me as a _guy_? Please?"

Isles rolled her eyes. "I'm not referring to you as a guy, I'm comparing you to one."

"Oh, and that's really _so_ much better. Thank you," Jane said, a slight laugh creeping out.

"Okay, okay, fine."

Just then, Jane's phone starting buzzing. Looking for it, she pointed to Maura's side table and she handed it to her.

"Rizzoli."

"Hi Janie."

"Oh, don't you dare `hi Janie' me, punk."

Frankie knew that tone and knew he would be a dead man if he even jokingly referred to the picture on his phone. He had plans for that photo, anyway.

"I had nothing to do with this. This was all Korsak. Are you out of the cuffs yet?"

"No! Where's the key, Frankie."

"I honestly don't know. I would tell you if I did."

Jane knew he was telling the truth. All the same, she was in no mood to deal with him. "Yeah, okay. I gotta go. We are still trying to find it." And with that, she hung up.

"We've looked everywhere and have turned this place almost inside out. I have no idea where it could be, but I am starving. There's a great little Chinese place around the corner that delivers. You up for that?"

Maura thought for a minute. "I suppose so, but first, let's try to just look a little bit more. I don't relish eating another meal practically holding your hand across the counter."

Jane stared at her in disbelief. "But a few hours ago you were willing to leave the apartment and go out in public with a sweater draped across the handcuffs? Seriously, Doctor, are you certifiable?"

"You're very stressful."

"Oh, yeah, right. I'm stressful. Right," the brunette said, getting up, pulling Maura up with her. "Anyway, Dr. Nutso, where haven't we looked?"

"Dr. Nutso? Oh, please - this coming from Detective Cavewoman? Hah."

Jane almost laughed out loud when she saw the expression of displeasure cross the honey blonde's face. She was pretty easy to fire up and the detective had to admit she found it quite entertaining - especially when the ME wasn't railing on her in front of the whole damn bullpen. Then her last statement clicked.

"Detective Cavewoman? Wha-? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"You know, you're extremely crude and brash."

"I'd rather be crude than insane."

"Oh, for the love of God, Rizzoli, please let's just find this damn key."

"And I asked you where haven't we looked?"

"We didn't search your bedroom."

"Oh, I'll bet you want to end up back in there."

The look Maura shot her made Jane break into a wide grin followed by a guffaw. Maura found herself smiling along with the detective.

"See, crude. That's exactly what I mean. Forget it, I'm just too hungry. Let's order and we'll look while we're waiting for the food."

Jane nodded her agreement and they headed to the kitchen to the drawer where she kept her take out menus. Pulling out the menu for the place, Jane's eye caught sight of the yellow post-it note.

_I'm guessing that you are in this drawer to order from Shanghai Gardens. That means you must be on speaking terms to actually want to order in food and eat it ... together. I hope you both learned a lesson from this. Enjoy your meal. _

Jane turned the menu over and taped to the back was a twenty-dollar bill and the key to the handcuffs. She held up the menu for Maura to see.

"Oh my God," Maura exclaimed, thrilled to finally see the key. Jane quickly unlocked the handcuffs and they both stretched. "Excellent. now we can order."

Jane looked up, surprised. "You, you mean you still want to hang out and order dinner?

"Well, I, well, yes. I'm starving and it may be nice to talk a little without being chained to you."

The detective smiled. "Okay, figure out what you want. I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

"To pee without an audience," Jane said as she dashed off to the bathroom. She popped her head around the corner. "Unless of course, you wanted to come in?"

"Rizzoli!"

Jane burst out laughing and Maura heard the door shut. Looking at the menu, she shook her head and laughed to herself.

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

What a Pair - Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Rizzoli and Isles - the credit goes to Tess Gerritsen and TNT. I'm merely borrowing them for a fan fiction idea. Please read and review. Thanks.

A/N - This is set before Charles Hoyt and before Jane and Frost are partners. Also, the medical aspect may be a little bit off so please forgive.

A/N2- And thank you all so much again, this story has broken the 100 review mark and I'm so appreciative and happy that you all like it so much! Thank you!

"Okay, so what's your deal?" Jane asked, looking across the counter at the blonde as she emptied her carton of food on to her plate.

Maura, emptying hers as well, stopped and looked up. "My deal? What do you mean?"

"Well, you asked me about the way I am. So, why are you the way you are? What made you get into this profession?"

"The way I am, there's nothing wrong with _the way I am_," Maura said, beginning to take offense.

"Come on, Maura, Really? You have just as many," Jane struggled for the word. "Faults as I do."

"I agree we're all capable of being fallible but I don't think I have quite as many as you."

Jane closed her eyes and exhaled. `God, is there no end to the many ways this woman can frustrate me?' she thought to herself.

"Come on. Okay, let me phrase it a different way - why did you want to work with dead people?"

Maura didn't say anything for a moment, she just focused on a spot on the wall, beyond Jane's head. Exhaling, she started to speak. "I'm a socially awkward person," Maura started.

Jane laughed. "No, really? I would never have guessed that!" she exclaimed, joking. But the look on Maura's face quickly made her regret it. Maura shook her head and went back into herself, starting to eat her dinner.

"Hey. Look, I was only teasing. I'm sorry. Please, continue, I won't wisecrack. I'm sorry," the detective said, her voice soft.

The doctor looked up, was satisfied Jane meant no harm and continued.

"I always knew I wanted to be in the medical field but - well, I didn't want to deal with patients, you know - live ones. But I wanted to be able to help and make a difference. I don't cure people and I only get to them once the damage has been done, but I can help them - I can speak for them." Maura said this all so passionately, her eyes began to tear a bit.

"You're an excellent medical examiner, despite the fact you drive me incredibly insane," Jane said, softly as she reached across to pat Maura's hand. Maura smiled and they went back to eating.

Jane wanted something to lighten the mood.

"So, you know we owe Korsak, and my little runt of a brother for that matter, right?"

"Owe them?"

"Yeah, owe them. You don't think I'd let them get away with this, do you? No. We need to concoct something - any ideas in that big brain of yours?"

"You mean like for revenge?" Maura questioned, tilting her head.

Jane rolled her eyes. "No, a surprise party - YES like revenge!"

Maura narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips at her. "Must you always make fun of me?"

"Get used to it, Doc."

...

"I'm going to go home," Maura announced after dinner. "I just want a hot bath and to sleep in my own bed."

"What? Being handcuffed to me all night wasn't all that comfortable?" Jane said, her eyes twinkling with mischief as she broke into a smile.

"Detective, please. I could live my life without ever having that experience again."

Jane feigned a hurt expression. "Being handcuffed to me or sleeping with me?"

Maura exhaled, frustrated. "You're incorrigible. I need to go."

Jane laughed and hugged the doctor warmly. Maura, not used to getting such affection, hesitantly returned her embrace.

"See ya Monday, Doc."

"Goodnight, Jane."

And with that, Maura headed out. Jane shut the door, leaned against it and closed her eyes.

"Goddamn you Korsak, I hate when you're right."

...

Monday morning, Jane walked into the bullpen and placed a coffee on Korsak's desk without saying a word. He looked up when he saw her place it down and his gaze drifted up to meet her eyes. If looks could kill, he would be dead where he sat.

"You don't expect me to actually drink this, do you?" he asked.

"Why wouldn't you drink it, Korsak?" she asked, folding her arms.

"You're kidding me, right Rizzoli? You're probably still so pissed off you may have poisoned it. No way. Nice try."

She let out an exasperated sigh. "Well, it's not that you wouldn't deserve it for that little practical joke."

"I knew you'd think that, so again. Thanks, but no thanks. Unless you drink it first."

"Fine, prepare it the way you want it."

Hesitantly, Korsak put his creamers and sugar in and stirred the coffee, taking a quick sniff. Nothing seemed off. He held it out to Jane. "If you drink it and don't collapse in five minutes, I'll drink it."

She took the coffee and took a long sip. She tried to keep up her facade but she started laughing. He did too.

"I have to hand it to you old man, that was a pretty brilliant trick."

He laughed and swigged the coffee. "I'm sorry I had to do it, but ... "

"Yeah, I know. She and I were both acting like immature idiots."

"So, you two are good?"

Jane looked up and thought for a second. "Yeah, we're good. We're gonna be okay. I think we've come to an understanding."

"And you won't be trying to kill me?"

"Not today."

"Well, not so fast on that one."

She exhaled. "Do I even want to know? What? What now, Korsak?"

"Saturday, I had a call from a kid who got an anonymous letter. Only, this time, we know about the letter before the meeting," he said, showing her the copy of the letter he made.

"You had a lead and you didn't call me?"

"You were busy and I could handle it."

"Busy, yeah. Busy. You idiot."

Jane looked down and read the note

"This is great, so, we're going to put this kid on surveillance?" Jane said, excitedly.

"Yes and no."

"What do you mean, yes and no?

"Do you own running pants?"

Jane narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth, speaking through a clenched jaw. "Why?"

"Well, whoever sent this letter isn't going to be meeting Charles O'Reilly at the two-mile mark of the Charles River. They will be meeting Detective Jane Rizzoli. You're built like this kid and you can easily play this."

"What do you mean I'm built like this kid?"

"Well, he's tall and lanky - " Korsak started but Jane cut him off.

"Does he have tits too, Korsak? Jesus Christ! You know what, I'm getting awfully sick of being compared to a guy!"

Korsak looked at her like she had a second head growing from her neck. "What?

"Maura did that all day."

"Did what? Compared you to a guy?"

"Yes!"

He shrugged. "Yeah, I can see it."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, come on Jane."

"No. Come on Jane, what? What, Korsak?" her voice cracking.

"I told you it wasn't a bad thing," came a soft voice from behind Jane. Jane turned and smiled at Maura.

"Hi."

"Hi. What brings you up here?" Jane asked.

"Him," Maura said, pointing at Korsak and closing the gap.

Jane's eyes flashed between Maura and Korsak and for the briefest of seconds, after seeing the look in her eyes, she felt a little sorry for him - just a little.

"I'll have you know, Detective Korsak, I don't quite appreciate that little tactic you pulled this weekend," Maura said, her voice harsh as she folded her arms over her chest.

"Uh, I, I..."

"You what?"

Jane picked up her coffee and settled in for this show.

"I was just, ya know, well come on. You guys have to get along," Korsak whined.

"So getting us both extremely inebriated and handcuffing us together was supposed to do the trick? Really, Detective, how mature is that? Not to mention unprofessional. I could have your badge for this."

Korsak looked stunned and his jaw hung open.

"Maura, really? Come on, he didn't mean - " Jane laughed from behind her but was unceremoniously interrupted.

"Detective, I don't believe I was speaking to you," she bit, without turning around.

Jane put up her hands in mock defeat and as she looked at her partner, she was certain she saw beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

"Detective Korsak, I think you will do fine to not mettle in my working relationship with Detective Rizzoli. Are we understood?"

Korsak nodded.

"Good." Maura turned and gave Jane a smile and wink as she walked past her.

'Holy shit,' Jane thought to herself, realizing Maura had come up with that little plot of revenge all on her own. She had thoroughly enjoyed it though and decided she would have to come up with a way to deal with Frankie.

"Where were we, Korsak?" Jane asked nonchalantly, sipping her coffee and logging into her computer.

"Uh, uh," he stammered before pulling himself together. "We were discussing your undercover work tomorrow morning."

"Oh, yeah, right. And if you hadn't just had your ass put through the wringer by Doctor Isles, I would drag you back to the argument we were having before she came in. Lucky for you, I'm in a decent mood."

"Uh, yeah. Thanks."

"So what's the plan for tomorrow?"

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

What a Pair - Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Rizzoli and Isles - the credit goes to Tess Gerritsen and TNT. I'm merely borrowing them for a fan fiction idea. Please read and review. Thanks.

A/N - This is set before Charles Hoyt and before Jane and Frost are partners. Also, the medical aspect may be a little bit off so please forgive.

A/N 2 - Hey Everyone, I'm sooo sorry it took me forever and a day to update this story but I was at a block and couldn't decide the perfect ending. It still may not be perfect but I wanted to get it done and I hope I did it justice. Thank you for sticking with the story and I hope you guys like it. Thanks for reading.

After Korsak and Jane finalized the next day's plan with the Lieutenant, Jane decided to head down to the morgue.

"Nice job up there, by the way," Jane said, throwing open the morgue doors and finding Maura at her laptop. "You really got Korsak good, scared him something fierce."

Maura shut the laptop quickly as the detective approached. Jane looked at the computer and looked back at Maura, her curiosity piqued.

"What were you doing on there?" Jane asked.

"Oh, nothing. Well, everything I told Detective Korsak was true, right?" Maura asked, smiling and turning to face Jane. The brunette sat down in the chair next to Maura's desk.

"Yeah, it was true."

"So, why was he comparing you to a guy anyway?" Maura asked, filling out some paperwork.

Jane sighed. "Saturday a kid came in here with another letter about meeting at one of the running trails tomorrow morning. He's most likely the intended victim, so I'll be going undercover as this kid. Apparently I have the same build and can pull off looking like this kid with the right clothes."

Maura chuckled.

"Really? It's not that funny, Maura."

"Well, Jane, the fact that you were chosen to run undercover as a guy is kind of funny. But, undercover work is dangerous - what kind of backup will you have?"

Jane smiled, as she could see a little bit of worry etched onto Maura's features. "I'll have plenty of it, plus I will be armed and I've done this before. Don't worry."

"You've gone undercover as a guy before?"

Jane shot her a glare.

Maura laughed and shook her head, her attention turned to the back door of the morgue to accept a delivery. "Oh, hang on Jane, I'll be right back," she said, getting up to go sign.

Jane watched to make sure she wasn't looking and opened the laptop quickly to see just what Maura was hiding. "Really?" she said aloud, rolling her eyes as she realized she was looking at some website touting Jimmy Choo shoes. She quickly shut the laptop when she heard the clicking of Maura's shoes approaching.

"I have to get back, but, hey, do you want to go to lunch?"

Maura smiled. "Yes, that would be lovely. Thank you."

"Okay. See ya later then." And with that, she headed out but turned back for a second. "Oh, by the way, I'd go with the black ones with the strap if I were you."

Maura's jaw dropped as she looked back and forth from Jane to the laptop. Jane smiled and batted her eyes playfully at the medical examiner and headed out the door.

...

"Baby, you know the plan right?"

The blonde looked at her boyfriend in the mirror as she readied herself. "Yes. We've been over it a hundred times and this isn't my first time," she replied, adjusting her running outfit and tucking her hair under her hat.

"I know, but it's important. This is the last one and we're home free. The cops got nothing."

"It's going to go smoothly, honey. Just remember to take your position along the trail."

He approached and put his arms around her waist. "I know my job," he said, kissing her soundly on the mouth. "Let's go."

...

"You look great," Korsak's voice boomed into Jane's ear microphone, startling her as she tightened the laces on her sneakers against a park bench.

"Jesus, Korsak. That's my ear drum," Jane whispered into the microphone taped just below the line of her t-shirt.

"Sorry. But you look just like that kid would have. You ready for this?"

"Born ready. I just love being out here at the crack of ass."

Korsak chuckled. "Good. Hey, I spy a woman coming in your direction."

"You and that newbie Frost ready to run when needed?"

"Frost has on his running shoes and the uniforms are all set up along the trail, including your brother."

Jane scoffed. "Yeah, I know he's chomping at the bit. Runt."

Just then the blonde ran up and tapped Jane on the shoulder. "Hi Charlie, surprised to see me?"

Jane nodded, staying mute.

"I knew you were the silent type but oh so cute, Charlie!" she said, patting Jane's ass.

Jane's eyes widened under her mirrored sunglasses. At that moment, she just thanked God the woman couldn't see. Jane nodded and then started to break into a slow jog. The woman looked around very subtly but the detective noticed and put a bit of distance between herself and the blonde.

Jane watched the woman from the corner of her eye and the moment she saw the knife appear from the side, she went to knock it from her hand. The knife made contact with Jane's right arm and sliced it, blood starting to spurt as she maneuvered with her left hand to knock it from the woman's grasp and tackled her hard to the ground.

The newbie Frost appeared out of nowhere and cuffed the woman.

"Oh, God, you're bleeding," Frost said, and Jane noticed he was turning a slight shade of green.

"Yeah, it's superficial I think. I'll be okay. You okay? You look green."

Frost visibly gagged. Jane glanced at him but turned quickly when she saw Korsak giving chase to a bulky guy running out of the brush along the trail.

"Son of a bitch," Jane said aloud. "Frost, read her the rights."

"Got it Rizzoli."

Jane took off like a shot and quickly surpassed Korsak only to see Frankie run out of the brush to tackle the guy.

"Oh my God. Lendin?" Jane said, as Frankie read him his rights and cuffed him. "What the hell?"

Korsak came up huffing and puffing. "Look who we have here, Korsak. Muscle head," Jane said.

"So I see. The blonde was the same one he was talking to on Saturday when I went to the gym to open up Trelmer's locker," Korsak said, still trying to catch his breath.

Frankie led Lendin away and Jane turned to Korsak. "You really need to get that damn physical already and drop some of this," she said, gently patting his stomach paunch.

"And you need to get that arm looked at. Jesus, Rizzoli, you're bleeding all over the place," he said, pulling out a handkerchief and wrapping it around her arm.

"Korsak, really, I'm ... " Jane started to say but then everything went black and she passed out, Korsak catching her just before she hit the ground.

...

Jane opened her eyes to find the medical examiner in her face.

"Holy Christ, Maura! What the fuck?" Jane exclaimed, sitting up quickly. She then looked around. "What the ... why am I in a hospital bed?"

"I was just checking on you. Korsak told me you passed out."

"You did," the burly detective chimed in from the door. Just then Frankie popped into the room.

"Doctor said the loss of blood, followed by you running caused you to lose consciousness. You had to get a few stitches there, Janie," Frankie said.

Jane looked down at her bandaged arm. "Damn, how long have I been out?"

"Well, you started to come to a little, but they gave you a mild sedative to keep you calm and you fell back asleep," Maura said.

"Oh God Frankie, you didn't tell Ma did you?"

"Of course I did."

"Frankie, come on ..." and as if on cue, Angela and Frank Rizzoli walked into the room.

"Come on what? If your brother hadn't have called you both would've been in big trouble," Angela said, kissing her daughter on the forehead.

"Ma, Pop. Really, I'm fine."

"Your daughter is quite resilient," Maura said.

Angela looked at her.

"Oh, Ma, Pop. This is Maura Isles, our new Chief Medical Examiner. These are my parents, Frank and Angela Rizzoli."

Maura shook both of their hands.

"Chief Medical...you're so young!" Angela said.

Jane sighed and rolled her eyes. "Ma! Come on! You guys, really, I'm fine. I need to talk to Korsak here and hey, where is the damn doctor. I'm not staying here."

"No, Detective Rizzoli, you aren't," the nurse said, coming in. "You've been cleared to go. But you're out of work the rest of the week. Doctor wants you back in a week to get those stitches removed."

"Rest of the week? What? I can at least work a desk," Jane argued.

The nurse glared.

"Okay, okay. Thanks."

"Honey, we'll come by tonight to make sure you are okay," Frank said as he kissed Jane.

"Okay, Pop. Thanks."

They left and Jane grilled Korsak. "So, what's the deal.. Lendin?"

Korsak sat down. "Yep. All three of those guys witnessed him selling drugs at the gym. He was selling steroids. He was using Kelsie, his girlfriend, to help lure the guys. She turned on him so fast in that interrogation room it would have made your head spin. I confirmed with Charlie Baker that he had witnessed the drug deals."

"No wonder he stiffened when I made that steroids comment when we met him the other day. That makes sense now," Jane said, glancing at Maura. "Maura, what are you doing here?"

"I was concerned. Korsak told me what happened when he got back to the station so I came here to check on you myself."

"Thank you, that's sweet. I appreciate that."

"Of course, Jane. We really bonded this weekend and - "

But Maura was cut off by Frankie's snickering. "You said bonded." Korsak grinned.

"What the hell are you laughing at Butthead?" Jane prodded and glared at Korsak. "You too Beavis. What's so funny?"

"Butthead, Beavis? What is that?"

All three looked at Maura, incredulous. "Anyway, what is so funny?"

Frankie and Korsak exchanged glances. Jane rolled her eyes. "God, I have a feeling I don't even want to know."

"Well, Janie, I need to get back and continue processing all the paperwork and Frankie is coming with me. Dr. Isles, do you think you can take Jane home?" Korsak asked.

"Of course, they will be releasing you shortly. It's no trouble at all."

"Great. And I'll bring your car back over tonight Janie," Frankie said.

"Yeah, Butthead. Thanks," Jane said, giving him a quick wink and a smile.

Frankie and Korsak left. As they got out in the hallway, Korsak whispered, "you know, she is going to come after you for this one."

Frankie laughed. "Yeah, probably, but damn, it's going to be funny. I'm sure she will kick my ass."

...

Maura took a seat beside the hospital bed.

"I'm glad you're alright, Jane. I was frightened."

Jane looked at her. "Frightened? It was just a cut to the arm. I'll be okay."

"No, I know that - now. I just ... well, I don't have many friends, Jane. I don't find it very easy to make friends. But, as I was saying before your brother found it so funny for whatever reason, I feel like we did bond this weekend and, well, I," Maura stammered before Jane reached out and touched her hand.

"Hey. I know what you're saying and yes, we did bond. And, I'm not going anywhere so don't worry about that. I think you are kind of stuck with me."

Maura brightened and smiled. "Good!"

The doctor came in and signed the release and Jane was free to go. "I can't believe I have to be out the rest of this week."

"Jane, it's only a few more days. After Tuesday you will be back good as new once they remove your sutures."

...

Jane finally returned to work after having the stitches removed.

"Morning, Frankie, Korsak," Jane said, placing coffee on Korsak's desk. "Wait, Frankie, what the hell are you doing up here this early?"

"Oh, I wanted to wish my sister a good morning and a good first day back," he said, quickly kissing her cheek.

"Aw, thank you, Runt. I love you too," she said, smiling as she sat down at her computer. She went to log in and when her desktop popped up, her eyes widened and Frankie snapped a picture. "What. The. Hell. Is. This? I'm. Sooo. Going. To. Kill. You."

"Good morning, Jane, boys," came Maura's sing-songy voice as she appeared in the bullpen and she stopped short when she looked over Jane's shoulder.

They both stared at Jane's computer desktop which featured a photo of the two of them, asleep and handcuffed together in Jane's bed. Jane stood up and quickly advanced on Frankie, who tried to run but was stopped in his tracks as Maura blocked his path. Jane grabbed his phone.

"That had better be off my desktop in five minutes. Do you hear me? And that picture goes away, permanently, from this phone. Or I will shoot it. Understand me?"

Even though Jane's tone was one of no nonsense, the sparkle in her eyes and the hint of a smirk gave her away to her brother.

"Yes, please, Frankie. Do as Jane says, I really don't want that photo getting around," Maura said, sounding stern.

"You have five minutes, Frankie. Come on, Maura, let's go grab a breakfast sandwich from next door," Jane said.

"Oh, those aren't really healthy."

Jane stared at her. "Who cares, you can get something else then. I'm hungry."

Maura rolled her eyes. "Okay, let's go."

They walked out of the bullpen. Jane heard Frankie and Korsak guffawing and she spun on her heel as they hit the door. The glare she shot both of them shut them right up and caused Frankie to sit down at Jane's desk and start working on getting rid of the desktop.

"Jane is sorely mistaken if she thinks this is the last she's seeing of this picture. I have it saved at home! I know she will eventually end up kicking my ass for this." Frankie said.

"Probably," Korsak said, getting up to stand over Frankie's shoulder, staring at the desktop and starting to laugh. He thought about how far they'd come in a matter of a few days, all due to his little scheme and he shook his head, still laughing and sipping his coffee.

"Rizzoli and Isles - what a pair," Korsak said aloud, shaking his head and going back over to his desk.

The End


End file.
